


i write to you from the road

by okamiwind



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Character Study, Coming of Age, Epistolary, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Game, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24462613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okamiwind/pseuds/okamiwind
Summary: after it's all over, he knew nothing would be the same.it takes link a great long while, the love of his life, and several hundred letters to find his new normal.
Relationships: Link/Prince Sidon
Comments: 46
Kudos: 75





	1. apart in azure

He is frozen in time, and when he looses his final arrow directly into the eye of malice incarnate, he falls into the strangest white light, a light that feels endless, sempiternal. 

Then, he sees her. 

She looks exactly as Link remembers her, beautiful and good, but impossibly more beautiful, impossibly better, like all this time she has been becoming a hero worthy of legend. 

Zelda raises her hand, and the magic that always eluded her is pushed out in waves of effulgent, radiant white light. 

That is the last thing Link remembers. 

That they won.  
  


∏

He wakes at the ruins of the Sacred Grounds with a pounding in his head, his right eye swollen shut so much that it’s difficult to look through. He sits up, hands in the grass, and he looks to the castle. The malice has gone, all the pain lifted away, but his body is broken, battered and bruised. He feels it. The aches tremble through him. Something is broken, something in his leg. His muscles… Goddess, he is in need of a soft bed.

He picks up the sword beside him, and he stares at himself in the dirty, mirrored reflection. He is bloodied, worse than ever before. He doesn’t remember a fight ever ending so badly for him, but he supposes that this was the fight to end all fights. The last fight. 

As if called by some higher being, guided by time or Hylia herself, Link turns. 

He sees her. For a moment, he was worried. Worried that she might not make it out alive. Worried that all the work would have left her… left her empty. Nothing left for after. 

_What’s left of us_ , he wonders to himself. _After?_

“Oh, Link,” she says softly. “You’ve done it.” 

She falls to her knees before him, and her arms circle his neck, embracing him. _Finally_ , he thinks. _This is what we were waiting for._

Zelda pulls back, studies him, turning his face from side to side. 

“You look a sight,” she smiles weakly, and he can see in her eyes how tired she must be. Still, she offers him a hand that he takes graciously. “Come, we’ll head straight for Zora’s Domain. They’ll be best equipped for your healing.” 

He brushes himself off, slides his sword back into its hilt at his waist. 

_But... what do we do now,_ he asks. _Now that it’s all over?_

“Now?” she smiles. “Now, we rebuild.” She looks out over the sweeping ruins of Castle Town, the crumbling stones and decay. Zelda looks back at him with hopeful eyes, and that sort of thing should be infectious. She takes his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Now, we _live_.”  
  


∏

It is a curious feeling, one he’ll never get used to, coming apart and then coming back together again. It leaves him quite ticklish, and when they walk out of the shrine, they are immediately ankle deep in water.

“Oh,” Zelda says, staring down at her feet before looking back towards Link with concern scribbled all over her face. “Link, are you all right?” 

He feels dizzy, a little squeamish, and he braces himself on the cold stone wall of the shrine, holding himself still so that he doesn’t fall flat on his face. 

“Wait right here, I’ll fetch the guards,” she says hurriedly. “Eat an apple, why don’t you? I’ll be right back, quick as anything, I promise!” 

Zelda runs off, her feet splashing through the water, her pretty soprano voice echoing out through the kingdom, announcing their arrival, calling for help. Link rolls his eyes. Sure, he’s near death, but he’s never really been a fan of the dramatics. 

He doesn’t seem to have any apples left on him, not after the end of the world, and now that Zelda’s mentioned it, he does feel a bit hungry. Link stumbles down from the shrine, feet plodding through the water, and he walks over to the sprinkling of fleet-lotus seeds. He picks a pod, chews through it. _I remember this tasting better_ , he thinks to himself. And then it occurs to him: he usually cooks them first. 

“Link! What a surprise!” 

Mouth full of fleet-lotus, he turns, confused, and _oh_. 

There he is, in all his princely glory, towering and vermilion, decked in elegant metalwork, jewels, and his epaulets. Link feels faint just looking at him. 

“ _Hero_ ,” Sidon says, and he leaps down to the water, swiftly lifting Link into his arms. “Sweet hero, look at you. You are _hurt_.” 

_I’m fine_ , Link signs, swallowing thickly, the rest of the fleet-lotus falling from his hand, splashing to the floor. 

“You do not look it, hero,” Sidon says carefully. “Allow me.” 

_Allow you to what?_

Sidon smiles, a little curve at his mouth, and Link traces it with his gaze. 

“Oh!” The pair of them turn their heads, Zelda flanked by two of the Zora guards. “Prince Sidon, I’m so sorry, I—” 

“You owe me no apologies, Princess,” Sidon says, and he nods his head in a bow. “We are all in your eternal debt.” 

Zelda smiles, and then it fades to a frown when she locks eyes with Link. “He was mortally wounded,” she says. “I thought this… this would be the best place for him.” 

“You honor my people, Princess,” Sidon says, another gentle bow of his head. “I will call on the healers myself. But, your grace, I must insist that you rest.” 

He is smarter than people give him credit for, Link thinks sleepily. He is observant. He too can see the tiredness in her. 

“If you don’t mind, Princess, I thought I would bring our hero to my personal chambers,” Sidon suggests. “And Princess, if you don’t mind, I thought I might offer you Mipha’s chambers to rest. You will be right next door to Link. And I swear, I will not let him out of my sight.” 

“I would be honored,” Zelda says graciously, struggling for words, fumbling over the niceties that she hasn’t practiced in so long. “Thank you so much, for… for your hospitality.” 

“It is our pleasure,” Sidon says, and he walks over to her, Link’s head resting against his cool chest. “Now, please, let me lead the way.”  
  


∏

_It was only once. One night that he cannot forget, does not want to forget._

_No one understood what Mipha and Link shared. Sidon didn’t even understand, not until Link made it clear._

_After the world went dry, dense with pinpricks of light, barren of clouds, Link finally had the courage to tell him._

_Link stared at the dark navy sky, the bio-luminescence of the lanterns and the stones making everything glow blue, green. Link could feel Sidon’s eyes, but he did not look to him. Wasn’t brave enough for that yet. He merely moved his hands, made himself clear for a change._

__She never loved me in that way. I loved her, and she loved me. But not in that way. __

_“Are you quite sure, Hero?” Sidon asked, and out of the corner of his eyes, Link could see his mouth form a smile. “You know it is our custom, of course. The armor is presented to—”_

_Link looked at him, overwhelmed. How was he still not understanding? How was he still so dense?_

_He was a man of action, chaotic, frenetic action. He surged forward, pulled Sidon down into a fervent kiss. Sidon was cold, just as Link remembered Mipha, and the feeling of Sidon’s slick skin in his hands sent a shiver of want up his spine._

_When Link withdrew, he looked into Sidon’s eyes, saw small blue flames of desire, and those flames started to dance all around him, the magic of need swirling between them._

_Link did not know if he would survive the rest of his journey. The road was long, winding, stretching out into forever. At the very least, he thought, he deserved this. At least one night of it._  
  


∏

The chambers that Link wakes in are familiar, and the thought puts heat in his belly.

 _How long has it been?,_ he wonders. _Have they healed me yet?_

The walls are sapphire blue, glassy, and the bed is surrounded by a pool of crystal clear waters. The room has changed since that night, and he looks around, studies the subtle differences. There are more Hylian items here now, a row of special bathing oils, a hair brush with an ornate handle, linen clothes folded and stacked. There are tapestries hung from the ceiling, scenes of the Domain’s history, her successes and her defeats. There is a taller jewelry case than there was before, this time full of gauntlets, diadems, necklaces and earrings, crafted from rubies, topaz, opals, and pearls. 

Link gets up from the bed with weak limbs, a wince on his face as he realizes, _No_ , they’ve yet to heal him. He goes to the case, strangely in the thrall of it, as if a thread ties him to it. He runs his fingers over one of the items that draws him in, a crown of silver, studded with pearls and opals. Link feels an immense pleasure when he touches it, and that red burst of pleasure fills him up. He shuts his eyes, lets it work through him. _Why does this call to me?_

He wonders, wonders. 

Suddenly, he hears the door to the room creak open. Link tries to hobble quickly back to bed, but when Sidon steps across the threshold with an older Zora woman, grey and speckled with white, Link’s knees buckle. 

“Oh, _Link!_ ” Sidon cries, and he darts across the room, grabbing Link up by the arm so that he doesn’t fall backwards into the pool. “Heavens, I was only gone for a moment!” 

_Sorry_ , Link signs. 

“You fell asleep on the way in,” Sidon says, voice panicked. “I… I wasn’t sure if you’d ever wake, so I had to be quick about fetching the healer.” 

_I’m okay_ , Link says. _I’m fine._

“You most certainly are _not_ ,” Sidon says, and he is gentle as he directs Link back to bed. “You are close to death, and still, you will not rest. Will I have to guard your door myself?” 

He pulls the covers, soft and woven, up over Link’s body, runs his hands down Link’s sides to tuck him in. It feels too… too intimate to do in front of someone else, but still, Sidon does it. There is nothing self-conscious about him. Nothing able to be shamed, for there is nothing shameful. 

Link smiles. _No, that won’t be necessary._ Link settles his hands across his stomach like he’s about to be laid to the grave. He shuts his eyes, makes a quick little gesture with his hands. _I’ll rest now._

“First, we’ll heal you,” Sidon says. “Luto, please.” 

_No._ Link opens his eyes again, taunting. _You heal me._

“Hero, have you mistaken me for my sister?” He shakes his head with a smile, gesturing for Luto to step forward. “You know very well that, for all my strong suits, I have never had a gift for healing, Link.” 

Hearing his name fall from Sidon’s mouth, it is the sweetest sound. Link blinks softly, smiles softly. 

_Try for me_ , and then belatedly, _my prince._

Sidon looks at him, eyes deep and warm, and Link is dying, maybe he really is dying, because he feels so at peace, so ready for her grace to grab him instead of this state of in-between, but Sidon reaches for his hand, and Link gives it to him. 

The feeling that swells through him is the pure blue light of healing, and Link watches with pride as Sidon’s eyes go wide, shocked at the power that courses through him. But Link is not shocked. Link always knew that Sidon possessed the ability. Link always knew that he was special. That he could do anything he wanted. 

“Your grace,” the greying Zora says with awe, “your _grace_ , you are healing him.” 

Sure enough, the aqua surges around them, a bright, fuzzy ball of light that encapsulates the two of them, that leeches all the poison and pain away from him, dissolved like a small drop of red ink in an ocean so large you cannot see the end of it. 

The light recedes, and Sidon laughs quietly, lacing their fingers together. 

“Luto, you may go,” Sidon says. “Thank you.” 

She bows before her prince before she leaves, the door closing soundly behind her. 

Link mouths the words, hands full of Sidon. 

_Stay with me until I fall asleep._

Sidon smiles again, and Link thinks that maybe he could get used to this, the incredible and unending pleasure, indulgence of this love. 

He lifts Link’s hand to his mouth, presses a kiss to the knit of their fingers. 

“And long, long after, my sweet.”  
  


∏

Link opens his eyes, and he feels the chill at his side. He knows it well now.

It has been three days since he arrived in the Domain. He was immediately healed, completely and absolutely. For some reason, though, he has stayed in the chambers for the better part of three days. He is healthful, and yet— 

“Keep still now,” Sidon says, a hand on Link’s thigh. “You’re to be resting.” 

_Damn the rest,_ Link mouths. _I want to fight something._

Sidon smiles. 

“How about a walk?” Sidon asks. “Will that satisfy your adventuring spirit, hero?” 

_No,_ Link mouths clearly. 

“A walk it is!” Sidon says excitedly. He throws the sheets back, leaps up to his feet before offering Link a hand. Link takes it, is summarily lifted from the bed. “Oh, but I’m afraid you can’t go out looking like that, Link.” 

The Zora are a kind people, generous, and Link appreciates that kindness and generosity, but he’s beginning to get restless here, pampered and softened like some sort of... well, _prince_. 

Link frowns as he is lowered into the pool, small colored glass vials full of sweet-smelling oils casually dumped into the water. The steam that rises from the swirling water smells like blue nightshade, and Link feels his head go a little dizzy as he breathes in the vapors. 

_Stop trying to put me to sleep,_ Link accuses, hands splashing in the water as Sidon reaches back for the soaps. _I want to_ do _something._

“I am not trying to put you to sleep, sweet hero,” Sidon says, and he turns with a sharp, toothy smile, the kind that puts a knot in Link’s stomach. He swims effortlessly across the pool to where Link rests, and he raises up to his full height, makes Link jut out his chin just to look up to his face. “I only want to care for you as best I know.” 

Some part of Link wants to relax into those sweet words, just as sweet as the scent of the nightshade, but the better part of him, the greater part, only wants to struggle against it.

 _I don’t need to be cared for._

“Everyone needs to be cared for,” Sidon tells him, and he spins his finger in a circle, a little motion for Link to turn around. “Come, hero.” He smiles gently at Link like he’s a horse that needs to be calmed, else he’ll spook. “Let me wash you.” 

Link is stubborn as he turns, and when Sidon's hands come to rest on his shoulders, he is overwhelmed by the differences between them. Sidon, princely, handsome, soft. Confident, quick to laugh and smile. A sweetness, a tenderness that can't be masked by a royal title or a crown. Sidon is cold, his fingers long and sprawling over Link's skin, and Link shuts his eyes as Sidon pours warm water over his back, his hand coming to gently direct Link to tilt his head back, the water soaking through his hair. Sidon rests his hand on Link's forehead to keep the water from his eyes, and when it's all through, Sidon washes his hair with a soap that foams up and smells like violets.

Link moans out a sound of appreciation, and Sidon answers with a laugh quickly swallowed. Link wants to open his eyes, wants to see the light on his face, wants to see Sidon looking at him with the same hunger that he once did.

Sidon rinses Link's hair for him, pitcher after pitcher until the water runs clear in the pool.

"There, now," Sidon says, pleased, "much better."

He combs his fingers through Link's hair, the tips of his long nails just barely scratching at Link's scalp. The feeling of it is bone-shatteringly delicious. Link can't remember the last time anyone touched him with such plain affection, with such an obvious love behind all the gesture. Perhaps, it was Zelda, but then... it was a different sort of love. Much different than this.

Link turns, looks over a shoulder, and he watches Sidon watching him, watches the way he tilts the pitcher full of water lovingly so that it soaks over Link's front like a sheet of silk, warm and inviting.

He faces Sidon then, spots Sidon's eyes going more black than gold before they adjust, and Link smirks at him.

 _What are you looking at?_ , Link signs, the movements of his hands slow and luxurious as he stares up at Sidon.

"Only you," Sidon says. "Only ever you."

Link cannot stem the tide, cannot call back waves that have already crashed upon the shore, so when he throws himself into Sidon's arms, the fires inside him raging with passion, Sidon groans out his surprise, holding Link to him.

"Link," Sidon gasps, his mouth against Link's, the words whispered along Link's lips. "Link, my hero, please, we—"

 _We what?_ , Link mouths, and he makes sure that Sidon can feel each word, following it with a chase of his tongue along Sidon's bottom lip. _What about us?_

"We shouldn't," Sidon says. "You aren't ready."

Link kisses him fiercely, their walls closing in. Link wants to lick along Sidon's teeth, wants to prick himself so hard that he spits red into Sidon's mouth. He wants Sidon to taste him, wants to remember the metal and the blood and all the fire, wants him to memorize and fall in love with it.

Link shoves Sidon back by the shoulders when he's finished with him. _I can't ever be finished with him_ , Link thinks. _Not him. Not ever._

Sidon stares down at him, confused and desperate to understand the forces that move through Link. _In that, we are a pair_ , Link thinks. _How long has it been since I understood what I felt?_

Link moves his hands very deliberately when he says _I'm always ready for you._

Sidon makes a soft noise, holds Link in a weightless embrace. He hugs him gently, peeling back layer after layer of him, and Link feels so naked, so stripped bare. How does Sidon manage to do this to him? How does he bring him so low?

"Hero," he says, his voice only just above a whisper. "Hero, please. You need your rest."

Link traces the words onto Sidon's back. You don't know what's best for me. I don't need to rest.

"Perhaps not," Sidon says, and he kisses Link softly on the side of his face, hums as he squeezes Link tightly. "But you have earned it, and so you shall have it as long as you’re here."

Sidon washes the rest of his body diligently, a soft cloth in his hand as he meticulously works over each and every part of Link. He stays silent, does not put up any more of a fight and when Sidon offers him a hand up from the pool, Link stretches out to take it.

Sidon pulls Link up with a shy smile before he fetches Link a towel, the material softer than Link's ever felt before. It is something he's noticed since arriving for his prolonged stay at the Domain: they've got the best everything.

"Oh, Goddess," Sidon says happily, "you flatter us, hero."

 _It isn't flattery_ , Link says, and he roughly towels himself dry, shaking his hair out the way he's seen dogs do. _I always liked this place best._

The white of Sidon's face goes a mottled red as he turns, grabs Link's tunic and his pants, and he shoves them into Link's arms.

"I'll be just outside waiting, my sweet," Sidon says, and he bows, strangely formal as he hurries from the room, the door shutting behind him.

Link furrows his brow as he steps into his pants, throwing the tunic over his shoulders, lacing his sword belt around his waist. He ties his hair back with a band before stepping out into the hall, Sidon waiting with his arms folded.

"Well, that didn't take very long," Sidon says happily, before looking Link up and down, smile fading to a frown. "You're bringing your sword?"

Link looks Sidon up and down. _Aren't you?_

"There is little that could disturb us, Link," Sidon says. "Leave your scabbard behind. I promise, no harm will come to us."

 _A sword will ensure that promise_ , Link signs happily. He looks around. _I was also promised a walk. Where are we going?_

Sidon sighs, eyes shut.

"Follow me, hero," he says, and Link lets him lead the way.  
  


∏

Since the calming of Ruta, the rains have ceased, making the Domain a very pleasant place to travel. Along the banks of the Zora river, there are large deposits of luminous stone, and Link thinks about perhaps traveling out late at night to just rest in the eerie aqua-colored glow of them.

"That sounds very romantic," Sidon comments, and Link looks up at him, sees the mottling on his face go a little more blushed. "Perhaps I will escort you."

 _I need no escort,_ Link argues.

"Link."

_What?_

Sidon sighs, holds his hands behind his back as they stroll along the water's edge, the river rushing by them like a song.

"I don't know if it's wise to be on your lonesome," Sidon says. "You have been through much, hero, and you've done it on your own."

_No, you were there._

Sidon bows his head with a laugh, a handsome sound that Link would like to bottle and store for later.

"You brought me great honor," Sidon says. "I was eager to help in whatever way I could. It was what... well, it is what she would have wanted of me."

 _She'd be proud_ , Link signs. _If she could see you now, she'd be very proud. So don't think anything of it. I had help. I wasn't by myself._

Sidon looks at the grass, the periwinkle coral sticking up from the bank of the river. It is too beautiful here, Link thinks. Only princes should get to live somewhere so perfect.

"No one was by your side through it all," Sidon says. "And it worried me. I dreamt of you every night." Link looks up at him, and Sidon is staring at him. Seemingly caught, he looks away quickly, clearing his throat. "I only meant—"

 _I know what you meant,_ Link signs, and he pairs it with a wry smile.

" _Hero_ , you insult me."

 _Is it such an insult?_ Link snatches a darner from the air, stuffs it into his pocket with a grin. _It's natural._

Sidon sputters, offering apologies and explanations for things that need no apology, nor explanation. They walk along the river, and Link feels a little piece of himself settle, though it's not nearly enough.  
  


∏

Zelda leaves the Domain the next week, and Link begs her to take him with her.

“Don’t be silly,” she says, staring at him like he’s crazy. “You’re to be resting.” 

_I don’t need anymore rest_ , Link signs. _See?_

He stands back, jumps into a backflip, his knees tucking to his chest. After he’s stuck his landing, he holds his hands out to his sides with a smile. 

“You are perfectly healthy, of course,” Zelda says, “but that doesn’t mean that you don’t need a _break_.” 

_From what?_

She frowns, steps forward, and holds him by the shoulders. 

“From being a hero,” she says gently. “This place… the Prince… it’s the perfect place for you now. You _belong_ here.” She pats him with a weak smile. “I’m heading to Castle Town. There are already rebuilding efforts being organized, and it’s my responsibility to do my part.” 

_Then I’ll come with you,_ he signs. _I’m supposed to protect you._

“I don’t need any more protecting, Link,” Zelda says. “Remember what I said after all was said and done?” 

_We rebuild?_ , Link mouths. _We live?_

She smiles, beautiful, and Link’s stomach drops painfully inside him. 

“Yes,” Zelda says. “We live. I am leaving so that I might start. I think you… you should try and find what living means to you.” 

His eyes go strangely wet, and she pulls him into an embrace that lasts for longer than Link deserves. He holds her by the arm as they walk to the shrine, and when she stands on the base, he watches as she comes apart, magical and blue and wonderful, rebuilt somewhere else. Somewhere new.  
  


∏

After Zelda leaves, the days are long.

Link daydreams about open fields, about monsters disintegrating into clouds of sparking purple and black, about venturing off on his own in the middle of the night. He thinks about it. He thinks about it every day, but he never does it. Sidon leaves the door's bar up, but Link stays in Sidon’s bed, lets Sidon wash him every morning and night, lets Sidon drag him on the royal tours, lets Sidon take him on the most boring walks. Lets Sidon do whatever he pleases.

"Oh, Link, cheer up," Sidon says, and he rakes his fingers through Link's knotted hair before pressing a kiss to his forehead. Link squints at him. "Isn't there anything I could do to make you happy, my sweet?"

 _Can we find something to fight?_ , Link asks cheerfully.

"Don't be foolish," Sidon chides. "What is there to fight now, at the end of it all?"

Link feels a familiar sinking in his stomach, and he shoves it as far down as it can go.

 _Then, perhaps...,_ , he signs, and he drags his fingers along Sidon's collarbones, naked of his jewelry, the skin slick and cold.

"Link, _please_ ," Sidon says, flushing crimson before stepping back, lifting Link's hand to his mouth. He kisses the curl of Link's fingers, smiles at him. "You test my honor."

_Didn't we test your honor several times, once before?_

Sidon turns, the water rushing around him, and he steps out of the pool as Link smiles after him.

"Come, my sweet, it's almost time for our evening walk," Sidon says hurriedly, almost as desperate to try to avoid the topic of their physical relationship as Link is desperate to bring it to a head. Sidon offers Link his hand, same as always, and Link obliges. "One, two _three_."

Link is swiftly hoisted out of the pool, and Sidon turns his back as Link stands there, naked, the water dripping off him.

"Shall I fetch you the towel?" Sidon asks, but he isn't facing Link, doesn't even wait for Link's response. He grabs the stretch of cotton, and he bends his arm behind him, offering it. "Link?"

Link steps forward, batting the towel away before pressing his body against Sidon's back, hands skimming along his ribs, along the sensitive edges of his gills. He feels Sidon shiver, a great tremor through his body before he draws breath sharply.

"Link, what are y—are you feeling all right, hero?"

Link traces the words onto Sidon's skin, skating his fingers through water droplets: _I just wanted to touch you._

He feels the way Sidon trembles against him, and Link remembers that night like it was just the night prior rather than so long ago, a year or more. Sidon was so tense, whimpering and moaning, and Link pushed inside him, holding his legs open. He memorized every sound, every trembling word, and he remembers the feeling, slick and tight and so cold it was hot.

“You touch me every day,” Sidon says softly. “What is it, hero?” He turns, stares down into Link’s eyes, his golden irises shimmering. “What troubles you this morn?” 

_I want to embrace you_ , Link says, the movement of his mouth deliberate. _I want to hold you through the nights._

Sidon’s face colors, pretty and red, and Link steps forward, pulling Sidon by the hands until their bodies make a thin, curved line. 

“M-My sweet,” Sidon says. “We should wait.” 

_Why wait?_ Link squeezes Sidon’s hands in his, looks up into his eyes with as much heat, fire, and fury, as he can manage. _What are we waiting for?_

Sidon’s gaze immediately goes to the jewelry case, and Link sees it. Knows, then, why it called to him. 

Link goes over to the case, and he opens it, takes the diadem from the plush blue velvet pillow that it rests upon, and he turns back to Sidon, brows raised. 

"I had it made for you," Sidon says, a soft, shy smile on his face. "It's yours. If you'll take it."

Link turns the diadem over in his hands, studies the metalwork. It is intricate, swirling silver, points and barbs along the curling metal. The pearls and opals that are inlaid sparkle in the light of the room, and Link squints against it.

He sets the crown down onto the desk nearby.

 _Does it mean something?_ , Link asks.

"M-Mean something?"

He narrows his eyes, moves his hands. _I know your kind._ He picks up the crown again, gestures with it in his left hand. _The armor, and now_ this _?_

"I... well, items are often imbued with the spirit of the maker, aren't they? And we can prescribe meaning to anything, can't we? Isn't that the nature of living? Giving meaning to things that might not have inherent meaning?"

Link studies him, looks at his cheeks where they start to redden. He sets the diadem down once more, stares at Sidon until he breaks which takes a surprisingly _short_ amount of time. 

"All right, all right," Sidon concedes. "I did have it crafted for you. For a specific reason.” 

_For what reason?_ , Link signs. _Why?_

“Because I want you to stay,” Sidon says hurriedly. “I suppose that much should be clear by now.” He blusters. Turns, hands waving in an uncharacteristically clumsy fashion. “I have… significant feelings for you. Feelings that won’t go away. I want you to stay in the kingdom. I want to ascend to the throne with you beside me. I want you to find a home here, next to me.” He faces Link, and his eyes are wet, the pupils black and surging to devour the gold. “I love you, Link.” He grabs Link’s hands in his own. “I have never loved anything or anyone as I love you.” He looks to the diadem on the desk. “If… my love, I know it must frighten you, the thought of staying here, but I promise, on my honor and my life, that I will treat you kindly every day for the rest of our days.” He lifts Link’s hand to his mouth, gentle as he kisses Link’s knuckles. “I will dedicate my life to making you happy. To loving you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. To get the opportunity to love you as you deserve to be loved… and now, finally, I think I have my chance.” 

Link stares at him, stares up into Sidon’s honest eyes, and he is overwhelmed. He is not worth this sort of person. Not worth this kind of love. He closes his eyes, shakes his head, but Sidon moves, takes him in a kiss that tastes like eternity. 

“Please, my love,” Sidon whispers, and the words sit on Link’s lips until Sidon licks them away in another soft kiss. “I love you. Truly, and with my whole heart.” 

Link wants to scream, wants to die, wants to cry, wants to live, live, live in a world that sees it fit to give him this man, this kind of happiness. 

_Say no_ , he implores himself. _Spare him the pain._

Link is strong in many ways, but he is so, so weak. 

Link looks to the stone floor as he nods, and it is only after Sidon’s lifted his gaze, a finger underneath Link’s jaw, does Link quietly say the word. 

“Yes,” he says, and it shivers through them both, the promise of something greater than tomorrow or the day after that. 

Sidon slowly puts the crown on Link’s head, and it feels so heavy atop him, but when Sidon embraces him, his strong arms encircling Link warmly, his heart feels so light that he can’t even remember the weight. 

It is deep in the middle of the dark blue night when they kiss, their mouths slick and warm. Link shivers with need as Sidon is slow to touch him, hands careful on Link’s body. 

_Touch me_ , Link demands, and he signs the words between their bodies so that Sidon can feel his desire, his need. _More._

Sidon laughs, but it is stifled, like hot air escaping. 

They stand in the middle of the room, absently moving against the other, and Link feels the fires build, scream to the sky with loud sparks. He pushes Sidon to the bed, to the bed they share, and when he falls backwards, Link climbs over him, holds him down by the shoulders. 

He kisses Sidon hard, fast, licking into his mouth, swallowing his small sounds of pleasure that come like the river’s current. 

“Link,” Sidon whispers, and it slides along Link’s mouth, warm and sweet. 

He kisses down the side of Sidon’s neck, enough to make him shiver with want, and _Good_ , he thinks. _Now he knows how he makes me feel._

He luxuriates in the love, drenches them both in it, kissing whatever soft, cold skin he can. He licks, sucks, and he closes his eyes against the delicious sounds Sidon makes. They hold each other close, just about as close as they can manage without pulling away, without taking off what keeps them from each other. 

“Undress me,” Sidon asks breathlessly, nearly all the gold of his eyes swallowed by black. “Please.” 

Link never ignores a call from his prince, so he moves away, a terrible second. He cannot regret it, though, not when he’s able to strip Sidon of all his beautiful jewelry, the metalwork, the facade. Now, they can be something else with each other, not a knight and a prince, but two souls made to belong to the other. 

Link pulls his tunic from up over his head, baring his chest, and Sidon’s hands come to rest on the freshly revealed skin just as Link is about to take the diadem off his head, throw it to the side. He reaches up quickly, fingers wrapped around the metal, and Sidon whines, high and sweet. It makes Link burn. 

_What?_

“Don’t take it off,” Sidon says softly. “Please. N-Not yet.” 

Link smiles down at him as he rights the crown on his head, slowly loosing his hair from the tie, letting it fall to his shoulders. Sidon sucks in a breath, his chest caving in and then immediately filling back up, and Link trails a fingernail down his breastbone. 

_Do you like the way it looks on me?_

“Yes.” 

_Good_ , Link mouths, and he is slow to lower himself to Sidon’s body, leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses along his chest. _I like the way it feels._

Sidon makes a wounded sound as he sees the words, and Link smiles against his skin. 

He slides down Sidon’s body, kissing as he goes. He threads his fingers through the spaces in Sidon’s, holds their hands together. Sidon squeezes as Link kisses along his hips, tracing the bones with his mouth. 

“Link,” Sidon whispers, and the tips of his nails begin to press into Link’s hands, “Link, _please_.” 

Link raises himself up, smiling. _Please what?_

“M-More,” Sidon begs. “Please, I—” 

The prince isn’t used to being denied anything, and Link doesn’t intend to teach him. He wants to spoil him, filthy and wanton, wants to give him everything he can think of and yes, _more_.

Link touches him, slick fingers against his claspers, and Sidon shakes as Link plays with them, stiffening under his touch. 

“Link,” Sidon moans. “Please, I…” 

Link doesn’t ask what he wants, because he already knows. Knows because he is so ingrained, so buried beneath his skin now that he knows Sidon’s desires, Sidon’s emotions, Sidon’s wants as his own. 

He absently kisses further down Sidon’s body, a bright, thundering heat ricocheting through him when Sidon makes a soft, whimpering noise. It makes Link smile against Sidon’s skin, makes him open his mouth, licking and sucking as he goes. 

“Link,” Sidon groans, and it sounds like a song now, like a refrain that repeats after all is said and done. 

Link licks at the split between Sidon’s claspers, and it sends a tremble all through Sidon’s body, makes Sidon grab onto Link’s shoulder as if he’s just barely holding on. Link knows where he is most sensitive, knows because once, he thought he would never have this again. Made it his mission to indulge to the fullest. And now… now, it is his. Always his. Forever, he thinks. 

Sidon’s nails scratch at Link’s shoulders as he works, as he kisses Sidon closer and closer to immeasurable pleasure. Sidon is spread out like the sea across the bed, the sheets wrinkled beneath their bodies, and Sidon flails, stupid with want, hands moving from Link to grip the fabric in his hands. His body bows, hips rocking back and forth as if he doesn’t know whether he wants to run away from or chase after the feeling. 

It makes Link grin, and he raises his head just a touch so he can look up at Sidon, see the expression of wanton lust plain across his handsome features. His mouth hangs open on a forgotten moan as he looks down at Link, eyes black and frenzied. Link traces cold sweat down Sidon’s abdomen, paints with it along the ridges of Sidon’s muscles. It makes Sidon curse, makes him shut his eyes and groan. Link watches in amazement, in awe. _This is what sex should always be_ , Link thinks. _This is what it should look like. Sex is pure, sex is beautiful. Sex looks like him being taken apart by me. It looks like me putting him back together again._

He gets up onto his knees, slides his fist over his cock as he stares down at Sidon, chest filling, collapsing with effort. Sidon’s eyes go gold, expression soft as Link touches himself, gaze dripping over Sidon’s body. Sidon reaches forward with a curious hand, and the action, sweet, gentle, makes Link breathe out a careful moan. 

“May I touch you, my love?” Sidon whispers, hand halted just in front of Link’s body. 

Link nods. Sidon’s smile blooms like blood in the water, and he takes Link’s cock in his hand, gives it a little cautious stroke as if it is their first time together. It may as well be, as far as Link is concerned. That night is a lifetime away now. 

“It’s been so long,” Sidon whispers. “I’d almost thought I dreamed that night. I thought it was too good to be true.” 

Link throws his head back and sighs, strangled out of his throat as Sidon touches him, slides a slick fist over him. He shuts his eyes, squeezes them closed until he sees stars, and when he opens his eyes, Sidon looks up at him coyly. 

He doesn’t think he’s ever loved someone the way he thinks he loves Sidon. What a terrible, terrifying feeling to give himself to. 

_Tell me what you want_ , Link signs, and Sidon shivers, a great tremor rumbling through his body, and Link chases it with his hands before pulling back, smiling at him. _You want me inside you?_

“Y-Yes,” Sidon says, choked on a moan, and he pulls Link to him, pulls him into another kiss, each more fervent and passionate than the last. 

There is a vial of silvery oil at the side table, and it smells floral and sweet when Link uncaps it, lets it spill out over Sidon’s lower body. He rubs it into Sidon’s skin, slippery and wet, and he pushes a careful finger into Sidon, eager for the moans that fall from him thoughtlessly. 

He aims to tear Sidon apart, build him back up just so he can do it over and over again for the rest of time itself. 

Sidon stares up at him with black eyes, wanton and lovely and rare. He never looks like this except for moments like this, and that’s half the reason Link cherishes it so much. Sidon writhing in pleasure reminds Link of long rainy nights, of thunderstorms and heat so hot your clothes would burst into flame. Sidon begging Link for more reminds him of rushing rivers, waters rising uncontrollably. Sidon in the throes of passion reminds Link of the desperate, of the untamed, of the wild. 

“Please,” Sidon says brokenly, and one of his hands comes to circle around Link’s wrist. “Please, I… I’ve craved you so much, my love.” 

Link’s throat goes tight with lust as he looks down at Sidon’s body, at his expression. He is just as desperate, just as untamed, just as wild. And nothing will ever change that. 

When he pushes himself inside Sidon, he is overwhelmed at the cold, the shivering, icy chill, and then the bloody, beautiful warmth that swallows him whole.  
  


∏

When he wakes, Sidon is already out of bed, dressing on his own. It is no secret that they are together in some capacity, Link knows, but he thinks it will be a statement, his wearing the crown. It felt so right the night before, so good to take it, but when he looks at Sidon looking back at him, he wonders if he made the right decision.

“Have you changed your mind?” Sidon asks gently, like it would pain him to take the crown back, like he would do it anyway for Link. 

Link shakes his head no, gives Sidon a little smile. 

The Zora treat him differently when he wears the crown that very first day, and the contrast is stark, immediate. The people were never anything other than courteous, polite, and kind to him, but when Link dons the crown… they look at him reverently. The pair of them walk through the hills, as they’re wont to do, and the Zora they come across stare at Link like he’s a creature they’ve never seen before. Link stares back, narrowing his eyes at them until they look away. 

“You shouldn’t do that,” Sidon laughs. “They’ll get the wrong idea about you, surely.” 

_Or perhaps, they’ll get the correct idea_ , Link thinks, but he continues to hold Sidon’s hand through the fields. 

They bathe in the late morning, and Sidon’s attendants stare at the crown on the jewelry rest until Sidon’s laughter breaks up all the silence, and then, they scurry from the room, leaving them to their business. 

It’s even worse once the evening falls, and everyone is free to roam about after they’re finished with their work. Instead of greeting him with a wave or a friendly word like usual, they gasp and bow, eyes blown wide as the metal and jewels of his crown throw light in a hundred different directions at once. 

_They’re staring at me. They’re all staring_ , Link says angrily, hands low. _You didn’t tell me they’d stare._

“People often stare at beautiful things,” Sidon says happily. “I would take it as a compliment, my love.” 

Link does not take it as a compliment, feels like an ornament on Sidon’s arm as they walk through the kingdom, the whispers chasing after them. He tries to keep his face even as they go, but he hears things. Hears them talking. He regrets the crown already, wants to take it and throw it into the great river below them. 

“If you wish to change your mind,” Sidon says gently, almost like he can read Link’s thoughts. 

_No_ , Link signs quickly. _No. I’m not changing my mind._

“It was never my intention to force you to stay,” Sidon says. “If I’ve… if I’ve overstepped, you must forgive me.” He sighs softly, a timid rolling of his shoulders. “I only… I wanted to show you how important you are to me.” He smiles sadly at Link. “If you wish to—” 

_No_ , Link says quickly, furtively. _It’s not like that._

“Are you sure, my hero?” 

Link nods furiously. He gave his word. He intends to keep it. 

Sidon looks at him for another moment, his face happy once more as he pulls Link off by the hand. “Come, my sweet.” 

They come upon the statue of Mipha, and she stares down at them both. Link tries to imagine what she might say. What she might think of him, if she could see him now, empty of all soul. Carved out, edges dull. 

“What are you thinking about, my love?” Sidon asks, and when Link looks up to him, he is staring down at him with soft, gentle eyes. 

_I’m happy_ , Link tries, forcing a little smile onto his face. 

Sidon looks him over, up and down, before he leans down, the shadow growing over Link. He presses a sweet kiss to Link’s lips, and it tastes like he’s trapped. Like he’s walked right into the mouth of something terrible. Like he’ll never be able to get out. 

His hands come to rest on Sidon’s shoulders, but when Link hears the sound of the Zora all around them, eagerly cheering for them, he pushes away, wipes at his mouth with a little scowl. Sidon, for his part, looks delighted. 

“Come,” Sidon says happily. “We feast in your honor, my sweet.” 

Link follows dutifully, hand in hand with his… boyfriend? Betrothed? Link isn’t sure what the correct title would be. He was never good at that sort of pomp. All he knows is that he’s promised Sidon forever, and now, he has to make good on that promise. 

The grand hall of the Domain is sparkling blue, lanterns lit along the columns and archways. Link looks up, amazed by the intricacy and beauty of the architecture, and he momentarily becomes overwhelmed by the history of the Domain itself. This place is proud, pristine. This is not the kind of place where he belongs. Maybe once upon a time, he could have found a home here, a use, a purpose, but now… now he belongs in the wild. 

Dozens of circular pools are cut into the floors, the water crystal clear and cool to the touch, and for every pool, there is a round glass table to match. Arrangements of Silent Princess and nightshade spill out of tall vases at the center of the tables, purple, white, blue, and Link is led by the hand through it all towards the large stained glass window, blue, teal, and green. There is a long table at the head of the hall, a large throne, lushly cushioned, and two smaller, less ornate thrones on either side. 

Tell me we’re not sitting there, Link signs, looking around him as the Zora begin to filter into the room, dish after dish of food being carried in on silver platters. He looks back to Sidon. I can eat in our room.

“Nonsense,” Sidon smiles. “Your place is here, my love. At my side.” 

Link swallows over his nerves as he is led to the table, Sidon slowly depositing him on the left side of the King. After Link is sitting, nearly consumed by the size of the chair, Sidon lifts Link’s hand to his mouth, kisses his knuckles softly. 

“Just for tonight,” Sidon says gently. “I know these sorts of things aren’t your favorite. But it will die down after a while. I swear it to you.” He shakes his head, smiles. “It is just for a bit. Just a bit, I promise.” He knocks his forehead against Link’s. “If you want me to rescue you, just give the word.” 

Link scowls, and it makes Sidon laugh, press a kiss to his lips. 

“Are you sure you’re well?” Sidon asks. 

Link bites his lip, and he nods. 

He’s survived a golden Lynel ambush. He’s survived the calamity. Surely, he can survive a dinner party if love is on the line.  
  


∏

Each day, he feels further and further away from himself. He doesn’t even feel at home in this body anymore, not when his skin is so soft, warm, and clean, not when his flesh is unmarred and clear. He looks in the mirrors, in the surface of the water, and he sees someone unfamiliar. A prince, made in Sidon’s image. He is dressed in the finest fabrics, silks and velvets in navy and silver. His hair shines bright gold with every brushing, smooth and straight, and it grows strong, soft.

Sidon braids it himself each night, and when they retire to bed, Link is exhausted, though it is not the kind of tired that he is used to, comfortable with. His exhaustion now stems from the people, from the fawning, the constant entertaining that apparently comes with the job. 

Link can’t remember everything from his life one hundred years ago, but he knows for a fact that he’s never been meant for a life like this. 

Link’s favorite part of their days together are the walks through the Domain as it’s the closest he gets to what he distantly thinks of as _before_. Sidon laughs at him as he sneaks up on a darner, showing him the best way to catch them. 

“I don’t ever think I’ll be as deft as you, hero,” Sidon says. 

_You’re much bigger. Stronger_ , Link notes, looking him up and down appreciatively until a little blush streaks across the pale of his face. 

“You flatter me, my love,” Sidon says, laughing softly. 

_It is only the truth_ , Link shrugs. 

They walk through the fields, across the highlands. On their way back to the great fall before the castle, they walk past Ralis pond, and Link thinks back to the blue hinox he slew as it rested on the plain. It gave him such a sense of purpose. He wonders whether or not he’ll ever feel purpose like that again. 

He sits on a rock as he watches Sidon walk along the pond’s edge in all his princely glory, hands held behind his back delicately. He toes through the water, smiling up at Link. 

_What?_ , Link signs. 

“Nothing,” Sidon says. “Nothing at all, Link.” 

It sticks out in Link’s memory because Sidon so rarely addresses him by his name, preferring for affectionate, reverent epithets. Link sits up a bit straighter as he watches Sidon approach him, as he watches a bit of pink dot Sidon’s cheeks. 

“Would you care for a swim, hero?” Sidon asks, and he kneels down to the water, strokes a hand through it. “The water is warm.” 

There is something about watching Sidon near water that seems so right, and Link walks over, stands next to him, and when Sidon looks up, he is so tall that even kneeling he is still up to Link’s shoulder. When Sidon gazes upon him from his deferential position, there is some forgotten heat in his eyes. _I will take it_ , Link thinks. _That heat belongs to me._

“Link?” 

_Yes_ , Link says. _I want to swim._

He reaches out to touch Sidon, brushing his hand against the side of Sidon’s face, cold, smooth, and Sidon blinks slowly, as if he’s brought under a spell. Link strokes him, pets him, and his thumb catches at the corner of Sidon’s mouth. He feels the way Sidon sucks in a breath, eyes wide, glimmering and golden. 

Link offers Sidon his hand, slowly helps to pull him up, and Sidon stretches up like the shadow of a tree spreading across the wild grass in the afternoon. 

_Do you need to take anything off?_ , Link gestures, and he lets his fingers play along one of Sidon’s silver bangles, the pad of his finger trailing along the sensitive flesh on the inside of his wrist. 

“Y-Yes,” Sidon stutters. “I should—” 

And he steps back, chest filling up with air as the distance grows between them. Link watches him as he slowly slides all of his jewelry off, carefully laid out on a flat sheet of rock next to the pond. 

It is a type of eroticism that Link has had no prior experience with, but as he slips into the water, he observes Sidon strip himself clean as though no one is even watching. Link stares like some voyeur, and for only a moment, he imagines Sidon here totally alone with nature, stripping himself just the same with no one around to watch. But Link is here, and they are promised to each other. 

Sidon steps into the water with all the same princely dignity he normally wears, but the water is warm and his face melts into simple pleasure as he swims to Link, embracing him fully. 

“This is very romantic,” Sidon whispers, and Link can hear the smile on his lips shift as Link trails his fingers down the column of Sidon’s throat. “Oh, _hero_.” 

The bright blue tendril of cold-blooded _need_ fastens around Link’s wrist, pulls Link forward. He has no choice but to pull more sounds from Sidon’s mouth. He has no other purpose but to make the person before him shudder and moan with desire, take him in all the ways that he’ll let himself be held. 

Link makes a wave through the water as he pulls back. He looks into Sidon’s eyes, and the black pupils swallow up gold, base and instinctual. Link feels as though they understand each other on that level. He is skin pulled back, raw, the bright nerve-endings tickled against the air. He is little more than blood and bone, the animalistic drive within him. 

He moves forward slowly as if he was hunting, and he draws his bow as he puts a hand at the back of Sidon’s neck. He moves slowly, slowly, and then all at once as he kisses Sidon hard and fast, ravenous in the middle of the wilderness. He kisses Sidon as if he is the last breath of fresh air, the last sip of water in the middle of the barren desert. He kisses him like it might be the last time, like each time before it has been leading to this very moment. 

He strokes a hand down Sidon’s body, down his chest and lower, and that’s when Sidon pulls away with a laugh in his mouth. 

“Link,” Sidon chides. “Wh—” 

_Touch me,_ Link signs. And even the motion of his hand makes the heat rise to his face, so violent that he can see the tops of his cheeks ruddy when he looks down to the water. _Please._

“Link, we’re out in the open. Anyone could happen by,” Sidon says, smiling smally as he reaches forward to brush the blush away with the back of his hand. “Don’t be foolish.” 

_It isn’t being foolish, I want you_. 

He puts his chest against Sidon’s, backs him up until he is against the slick stone of the edge of the pond, hands on Sidon’s shoulders. Sidon is strong, and Link massages into the muscle, listens for the soft sound that pours out of Sidon’s mouth, teeth sharp as he bites into his lip. 

It is so out of character, so different than normal, the way he responds to even a bit of touch, and Link thinks about what he did while Link was gone. Wonders if he touched himself under the cover of dark. Wonders if he bit his lip to quiet his moans. Wonders if he might have whispered Link’s name to the sky like a song, a song that drifted through the mountains and the valleys. 

“What are you thinking?” Sidon asks, and he is so beautiful. The feeling that swells in Link’s heart is monstrous and terrible. “Link?” 

There was something inside him so long ago now, something that wanted with all of himself to protect what was beautiful in the world. Now, after everything’s ended, after the world has moved past the maleficence, he fears that in losing all his purpose, he’s become the monster. He’s become the malice. 

He backs away from Sidon, puts water between them as he moves a wet hand through his hair, brushing what’s fallen loose back. 

_I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me._

“Link, my love,” Sidon says, and for the first time in quite a while, Sidon sounds nervous. “Are you all right?” 

_I’m fine_ , Link signs. _Should we head back? Someone probably needs you._

Sidon stands there quietly, and Link doesn’t have the courage to look into his face. He is shameful. He can’t bear to hear what Sidon must think of him. 

“If you want to go, we can go,” Sidon says gently, and Link lifts himself from the pond without another word passed between them.  
  


∏

The situation, Link’s mood… neither improves.

Link is not so blind as to not see Sidon notice, and slowly but surely, Sidon pulls Link away from the more public courtly duties. He never asks Link to accompany him to daily mass or to sit at his side as his father hears the queries of the common Zora. Link feels relieved, feels like he’s finally able to breathe when he goes out to explore the Domain on his own. 

At the very same time, however, he feels something akin to guilt. _But guilt_ , he tells himself, _is not enough this time. Not enough to change my mind on how I truly feel._

He walks through the grass, the blades slipping past the hems of his pants to tickle his ankles. He climbs the rocks, harvests some of the luminous stone. It is much less pretty during the day, dusty grey, but he thinks about setting it around their chambers, letting the pale blue light paint their bodies as they lie within the sheets. It is a romantic thought, certainly a thought that would find Sidon smiling, and Link tucks some away in his bag to take back with him. 

He spends the better part of the day exploring because no matter how many times he’s run through the meadows or climbed the mountains, there is always something new to find, always something to do. After midday, he heads back, and when he gets to the castle, he trades with some of the common Zora. He is happy to find that they treat him normally although they do furrow their brow upon first glance. Link ignores it, used to the looks of puzzlement. 

It isn’t until much later, standing in their room staring down at the pool, that he realizes why they looked so confused. He wasn’t wearing his crown. A bolt of fear laces through him as he goes to his cabinet, hurriedly sticks it on his head. He already feels a bit heavier as he stands there, and his eyes well. Is this how it will always be? Is this how he was meant to live? With a sinking in his gut? 

He doesn’t belong in this place. He’s had that thought many times, but never has it felt more true than in that moment. 

Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. Link walks over to open it, revealing Sidon’s face. 

_Why are you knocking?,_ Link signs. _This is where you live. You’re the prince._

“This is where you live too, my hero,” Sidon says, and for some reason, it is the most terrifying thing Link has ever heard. 

Link stands to the side, and Sidon sweeps in, regal and lovely. Link doesn’t quite know what to do with himself, eyes brimming with frustrated tears. Sidon seems to sense it like blood in the water, and he gathers Link into his arms. 

“My love, my sweet, the one true pearl in a boundless ocean,” Sidon whispers, “what troubles you?” 

Link shakes his head, presses it against the cold of Sidon’s skin. 

“I will be here,” Sidon promises. “Whenever you want to tell me what it is, I will be here waiting.” 

_How long will I leave you waiting? Maybe forever_ , Link thinks.  
  


∏

Tensions rise day after day. Link spends less and less time in the castle, more and more journeying through the surrounding falls, ponds, rivers, and woods. It is insane, foolish, but it reminds him of a better time. A simpler time. He knew his purpose, He knew his task. He had… he had a job.

He picks fruit, gathers herbs, and he sells them at the market. He has no use for the money, but it feels good to do something that everyone else does. A small return to normalcy. 

He goes back to their chambers after a long day, and the dirt and sweat rolls off him in waves as he dunks himself in the cool, crystalline waters. He is in the middle of attempting to comb a massive knot out of his hair when Sidon enters, mouth open. 

“L-Link, I’ve been looking all over for you,” he says. “What are you doing?” 

He looks from side to side. _Bathing_ , he signs. 

Sidon tilts his head to the side, unimpressed. “My love, I—I sent someone to look for you.” 

Link makes a face as he signs. _Why would you do something silly like that?_ He plunges back under the water, bursts back up only when he needs to draw breath. _I know my way around better than most._

“It’s been two days,” Sidon says, and Link’s stomach drops to the soles of his feet. “Two days since I saw you, my pearl.” 

Link hadn’t realized. He supposes he just… 

_I lost track of time_ , Link mouths. He bows his head, and the water drips into his face. He looks up, and he sees Sidon cross his arms, face strung tight with nerves. He stands up straight once more, signs _I’m sorry._

“I-If you’ll be gone, just… tell me, hero,” Sidon says, and he pulls himself free of his ornaments, all the sashes and the regalia. He steps into the pool, and he offers Link his hand. Link takes it gratefully. “I am no keeper. You don’t… belong to me.” 

Link takes Sidon’s hand in both of his, drawing softly into smooth skin with the jagged tip of his nail. 

_I know_ , he writes, tracing the words into Sidon’s palm.

“You can confide your feelings in me, my love. Trust in me,” Sidon says quietly. “Hero, _trust_ in me.” 

_I do_ , Link writes, but even without speaking the words at all, he can hear the lie.  
  


∏

Despite everything, despite the way a storm rages inside Link day and night, they rarely find trouble during the darkness.

Link touches Sidon’s chest as he sinks down onto him once more, pulls sounds of desire from his lips before kissing them away. 

“Link,” Sidon whispers. “ _Link_ , please, I—” 

Link works his hips in earnest, rides him as though the world might be ending just outside their walls. He closes his eyes and lets himself dream of danger, of drama, of _furious passion_. He fucks himself until he tires, until the muscles in his legs feel useless. He is so soft now. So untrained. 

_Flip me over,_ Link signs, all but writing the words into Sidon’s skin. 

“H— _Link_.” 

But Link does not wait for more action, hooking his ankles underneath Sidon’s knees before deftly rolling them to the side. Sidon makes a noise of surprise, hands at either side of Link’s head as he braces himself over Link. 

_Hi_ , Link mouths coyly. 

“H-Hi,” Sidon says. 

Link surges up, licking into Sidon’s mouth until he tastes bloody arousal, the raw, untouched nerve of sex. 

_Fuck me hard_ , Link mouths, his lips moving against Sidon’s. 

“M-My love,” Sidon says, face coloring prettily. 

For all of Sidon’s princely chivalry, it only takes a moment for it to fall away, only takes Link beginning to rock up against Sidon. Only takes Link taking what he wants. Link drags him under the surface of the water, down into the deep, murky, _bottomless_ , _thoughtless_ lust. 

“You are insatiable,” Sidon grins, and he lowers himself to kiss and lick at Link’s neck. 

There’s undeniable romance and love in everything Sidon does, and Link whines, whimpers as he thrusts inside Link. Link meant what he said, he wants hard, fast, _hurt_. He doesn’t remember the last time his body truly ached, and he needs _something_ , needs _anything_. 

Link groans, frustration building up from his groin, and he works a hand between their bodies to pull at his cock. 

“None of that,” Sidon says, and he fucks him harder, faster, _makes it hurt_. “Don’t tell me you can’t _wait_.” 

Impatience boils within him, a bubbling black ocean of need. 

_I can’t,_ he mouths desperately. _I can’t_. 

“But it’s so much better when we deny ourselves,” Sidon whispers, and he gets his knees underneath him, settling into the cradle of Link’s body as he kisses and licks at the lobe of Link’s ear. He thrusts so slowly, needle-sharp, a pointed tip. “It feels that much better when we _wait_.” The sound of their flesh is delicious, stunning, dizzying, and Link wants more. Needs more. “Even the smallest of sensations, even the softest of touches can feel so… _electric_.” 

Link cries out, the sound strangled in his throat as Sidon takes him slowly, softly, gently. Link thrashes against him, hands in the sheets and then at Sidon’s shoulders. He is near begging, but the air swallows the words and he never manages to ask for what he wants. 

He holds Link at the edge for so long that the pleasure devolves into pain, and just as he thinks he won’t be able to take it any longer, he realizes he’s gotten exactly what he asked for… _hurt_. 

It isn’t anything like what he thought it would be. 

His orgasm is powerful, and he groans a deep, guttural sound as Sidon pulls him into his arms, a shelter amid a storm. He lets the pleasure course through him in tremors, shaking and shuddering as Sidon comes too, spends inside his body with the most delicious sounds. Link closes his eyes as he lets them shower down onto him, a cool summer rain. Refreshing and bright. 

_This_ , he thinks. _This isn’t ever wrong._

They hold each other in the quiet for what feels like a small forever, and Sidon presses a soft kiss to the side of Link’s face even though he is drenched in sweat. Link grumbles, and it makes Sidon laugh. He smiles too. He likes to make him laugh. He misses laughter. Easy. Freely given. 

“A bath sounds lovely, doesn’t it?” Sidon asks, hands stroking cleverly down Link’s body. “I’ll wash you, my pearl.” 

Link shuts his eyes, and the sudden tiredness makes him docile. Broken. He nods. 

Sidon hoists him from the bed, and he carries Link to the water. Link puts his arms around Sidon’s neck, holds on where he would normally kick and thrash until he was put down. 

_Is this what it could be like?_ , he wonders. _What if I could be happy this way all the time?_

“Ah,” Sidon says, and he lowers them both into the water, letting Link swim out on his own. “It’s very warm this time of year.” 

_Natural springs_ , Link reminds himself, and he sinks down into the water, letting his hair splay out in a wave as he makes bubbles with his mouth. 

Sidon makes good on his promise eventually, washing Link very carefully, very thoroughly. He is good with his hands, and even that is enough to stir the forgotten rumblings of lust. He rises again in the water, and it makes Sidon laugh as he turns to fetch the oils for Link’s hair. 

“Come here, my lover,” Sidon says, and he warms the oil in his hands before combing them through Link’s hair. “There. We’ll make a prince of you yet, won’t we?” 

Link closes his eyes, and he lets Sidon guide him back into the pool like being dipped into the Goddess’s waters. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t give way to anymore conversation, and Sidon stays silent. Link pours soap into his hands, rubbing at his shoulders, staring off into the middle distance. 

“Have I said something to offend you?” Sidon wonders. “Link, I must apologize, I—” 

Link turns away, scrubbing at his skin roughly. It isn’t until he looks down that he realizes just how angry he is, his flesh resembling his heart. Mottled and rough. 

“Hero,” Link says, and he takes Link’s hands in his, stills them against Link’s body. “Hero, what are you—”

Suddenly, everything boils over, horrible and bubbling. 

Link shoves Sidon’s hands away from him, and then, horrified at himself, at the way Sidon’s eyes go black, swallowing up the gold, Link swims away. His eyes fill with tears, stupid tears. Awful tears. He wipes at his face quickly. 

“Please,” Sidon says, and when Link turns to him, Sidon is wincing as if he’s in pain. “Please, just… talk to me.” He moves to Link, takes Link’s hands in his. “Tell me what’s wrong so that I might right things.” 

Link traces the words in the palm of Sidon’s hand. _Nothing’s wrong. I promise._

Sidon laughs, but it is not the joyous kind, the kind Link would love to hear again. 

“I know when you are hurt, hero. You wear your pain well, but still, I know,” Sidon says softly. “I know when something isn’t right.” 

Link looks up to him, up and up and up. He mouths the words. _How?_

“How do I know?” Link nods. “W-Well, you have several tells, if you’d believe it.” 

_I don’t_ , Link signs. 

Sidon splits into a smile, this time, it is handsome and happy. “You do, my sweet. My pearl. Several little things, but when you put them all together, I would have to be blind not to see it.” The smile fades just as quickly as it bloomed. “Please, Link. Please. For me.” 

_I don’t belong here by your side, no matter how much I wish I could_ , he thinks. _I am not suited for this life, and my decision to promise myself to you was hasty. If I could take it back now, I would. I am too much for this world. I have no place here. My place is somewhere out there. Somewhere terrible and wild._

_Maybe somewhere that doesn’t exist any longer._

These are not the sort of things Link could ever say aloud, couldn’t even sign them or mouth them. Couldn’t make himself ever say. They sound silly, even to himself, but he can’t pretend as if it doesn’t feel real. Can’t pretend like it isn’t true. 

“Link,” Sidon pleads, and his eyes are watery and sad. “Please. My love, I would do anything. You must know this to be true.” 

_I know_ , Link signs. 

“Link, if… if this life makes you unhappy,” Sidon starts, “if you wish to—Link, you should know that I would follow you to the ends of this world. I would do anything you asked, my love. Anything.” He breathes in, breathes out, and a tear falls down his lovely face. “I would leave my place in the kingdom to follow you.” 

_Don’t be stupid,_ Link tells him. _This is where you belong._

“I belong by your side,” Sidon says, and it comes out like a prayer to the Goddess. 

_Everything is okay_ , Link signs. _Don’t worry._

Sidon makes a small noise of frustration, and it makes Link realize that everything, all of it is his fault. It’s him who rejects perfection because it is him who doesn’t deserve it. 

He will crush Sidon, he knows. He will shatter a heart in two. He knows not what punishment will await him for such a transgression, but he shuts his eyes, takes a breath to steady himself. He will take that punishment. He will bear the scar for the rest of his life. It is a price he must pay. 

They go to bed that evening, and they do not touch. Link thinks about turning over, gathering Sidon into his embrace, letting Sidon curl around him. He can’t bring himself to do it, and he wonders why this, of all things, is so hard for him. 

Sleep does not come easily that evening, and he tries to listen for the slowing of Sidon’s breath, but the slowness never comes. They lie awake, and Link tries to think of something to say. Something to do to make it all right. 

“My love, I wish that I could steal these things from you,” Sidon whispers. “I wish I could right every wrong. I wish I could shoulder some of this weight. Carry the burdens for you.” 

Link sighs, and Sidon reaches out a hand, strokes it along Link’s back. Link feels when he turns over, when Sidon can no longer bear to face him. It takes all evening, but Sidon turns. And finally, _finally_ , Link can breathe. No longer being watched.  
  


∏

It should be no surprise. It takes several more weeks to come, but it comes all the same.

There was no breaking point, no heated argument, no last straw. Link goes through the day just as any other, sleeping, eating, bathing, and bearing the crown. Sidon kisses him softly on the mouth before they slip into bed together, and Link waits until the sound of his breath evens and slows. 

He leaves their bed in the middle of the cool blue night, and he sits at the desk as he writes, tries to remember all the clever, fanciful words that Zelda once taught him. 

_My Prince,_

_I am sorry to leave you. If there was any other way for me, I think that I should like to take it. But I am no prince. You deserve someone of your stature, someone of your caliber. You always call me hero, but at the Domain, my days of bravery are far behind me. If there is a place left for me in this world, I must find it. Forgive me. Please, Sidon. Forgive me._

_I know that, if the Goddess is good, we will find each other again someday. I offer you my most sincere gratitude for your hospitality over these last weeks. I can never repay you, but in the future, I might like to try._

_I have the honor to remain your most humble servant._

_Yours,  
Link_

He sets down the pen, folds the letter in thirds. He sets the diadem over top of it. He moves as silently as he can manage. When he turns back at the door, he sees his lover stirring, his hands gliding over the cold, empty space beside him. 

Link slips out the door, runs to the shrine. His body comes apart in blue, and then he is gone.  
  


∏

He barely has time to make up his mind as he splinters through time and space, but when he comes back together, his body aches in an unpleasant way.

It’s been a while since he’s had to travel in such a fashion. _Not just a while_ , he thinks. _It was the end of the world._

Link looks around him with his heart sinking into his stomach, keenly aware that again, he is alone. He thought it would bring him more joy, but instead, all he feels is a distant sort of regret. He is too proud to return, too stupid to move forward. He lowers himself to the ground slowly, his legs pulsing with a forgotten pain, the pain that Sidon stole from him. 

Why, he wonders, why can’t he let himself live and love at Sidon’s side? Why can’t he be happy? 

He does not belong anywhere in this new world. He was meant to die in the old one. 

The thoughts swirl in his head like a thunderstorm, and he tries to find someone to blame, someone other than himself. Of course, there is no such person, no such force. It is only him. It’s only ever been him. 

Angry tears leap to his eyes, but he brushes them away. He looks around, starts looking for the stable. He will take a meal, he will find a horse, and he will find his way.


	2. calling in clover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> link has a small panic attack during this chapter. if you would prefer to skip this section, i have marked the beginning and end with asterisks. i hope that helps!

He walks to Lakeside stable in the dead of night. He buys a bed, even though he could probably just sleep by the fire. His purse is plenty full, and he figures the stable keeps and the grooms need the money more than he does. 

When the morning dawns, he has a meager meal by the fire, an omelette and simmered fruit. Time spent living in the lap of Zora luxury, fine meals of seared bass and vegetable soup, expertly seasoned risottos, creamy and rich, and delicate yet flavorful seafood paellas… even the small amount of time he spent with Sidon shifted his perception. He was never meant for that world. He was meant for these open flames, watching with interest as the crackling sparks leap towards the sky. 

He waits there by the fire, gathering supplies as the stable fetches his horse, and once she’s found, he leaps onto her and taps his heels against her sides. She immediately takes off, and once he feels the wind in his hair, he closes his eyes. He rides, trying to decide if this is the feeling of home.  
  


∏

The flora and fauna of Lake Floria is just as beautiful as he remembered it to be, and he spends his days exploring the environments to their fullest. The sounds of crickets and dragonflies fill the air, and he closes his eyes, the humidity and the mist from the falls pleasant against his face.

On more than one occasion, he happens across a traveler down the main roads. He holds awkward conversations with some of the merchants as he indulges on some of their wares, and after that, Link makes the decision to keep to himself, to stay away from the main roads even if it would make travel much easier. 

He happens across the great series of falls, and as soon as he sees them, his heart aches. He remembers the first day he swam up the waterfall. Remembers the way the water fell off his back. The way he cut through the water. He was a blade. An instrument to be used. A weapon. He stares longingly upon the rippling surface before jumping into one of the plunge pools. 

Link wets his hair, rejoicing in the feeling again. He scrubs his fingers against his scalp, looses his hair from its tie, and just floats for a moment or two. He closes his eyes, trying to remember the last time he felt so at peace. 

_Sidon’s arms_ , he thinks. A funny thought. 

Shoving it down inside him, he swims to the base of the fall, and he lets the spirit guide him. He darts through the water, scaling the fall easily. Life soars through him as he glides upon the air, and he laughs out into the open sky as he traverses to the next plunge pool. He jolts back up in the fall, easily climbing the water as he goes. It is fast, hard, and it reminds him of sex, the way it makes your muscles ache, the way it makes your blood rise up. He closes his eyes as he lifts up into the air. The world carries him forward, guides him with her breezes, and he lands on the soft earth, tumbling to the ground. 

Once he’s landed, chest heaving with effort, his mind unwittingly goes back to Sidon. He wonders what he’s doing now. He wonders if he took the letter as Link meant for him to take it. It hurts, telling Sidon to find someone else, but he must be strong. Must do what’s right. That’s the only thing that’s keeping him alive, he thinks. 

He’s thinking silly thoughts again. Frivolous things. He must find something to occupy his mind. 

Immediately, he goes in search of a nice lunch, trying to find the best fruits that the lakes have to offer. From then on, he eats when he is hungry, sleeps when he is tired, and for the next several days, he forgets entirely about a life outside of these warm jungles. He journeys, retracing old footsteps and he rediscovers old memories as he walks. 

There is nothing besides himself and the earth, the water and the trees. He is free. He is free.  
  


∏

On the sixth day of his journey through the forests and lakes and falls of the Lake and her surroundings, he comes upon the ruins. The ruins of Zonai.

He stares up in wonderment at the ruins, still here after all this time. Life is like that, of course… only certain things will survive until the bitter end. 

Link walks through the hauntingly quiet grounds, and he remembers fighting the monsters that dwelled here atop these lonely stones. They did not go down easily, certainly not. He looks around, hoping to hear one creep up from behind. His hand goes to the hilt of his sword, and he turns. He sees nothing. He hears nothing. 

He is entirely alone in a world that should have shrugged him from her shoulders. Along with all the brutality, along with all of the evil and the anger… Link too should have been forgotten to time. 

*Suddenly, he finds it very difficult to breathe. The air feels too damp in his chest, weighing him down, and he fervently tries to push against it, battling against his own body as he hyperventilates. 

_What kind of trick is this_ , he wonders. _What kind of enemy has hurt me so?_

He struggles for breath, leaning up against one of the Zonai stones, cool and slick to the touch. Link stays there, shocked and scared as he tries to get a handle on himself, control his breathing the way he knows he can. He has lived through the calamity, he reminds himself. He can do anything. He has done all there is to do. 

Funnily enough, the sentiment only helps to further dig him into the pits of the poison. That’s what it must be, he tells himself, some poison. What else would cause him to go feverish, eyes aching with the need to cry, chest working double, triple time? He can no longer feel the chill of the stone under his fingers, and he looks at his hand, horrified. He can’t feel anything at all in his fingers… he is completely numb. 

He stumbles as he steps forward, eyes hazy with tears as he bites his lip, gathering as much nerve as he has left inside him. 

Link jumps onto his horse and together they ride from the ruins. He sobs over the hot air as he goes. Thank the Goddess there is no one there to see him. What a pitiful hero he would look. What a pitiful hero he is.  
  


∏

*Link falls asleep under the stars and the canopy of strong oak trees that night after he’s fled as far as the horse will take him. In the morning, he is back to normal, feeling exactly as healthy as before. He wonders what sort of poison plagued him, what venom managed to seep into his skin and leave him unmarred. Certainly a strange one.

Still, he must count his blessings. He has woken another day to fight again. 

He decides then and there, setting out his fire, that he will take another bed at the nearest stable. He takes a quick look around him, trying to gauge exactly where he’s traveled. He gathers that he actually did not make it that far, traveling just along the main road and the river through the Pagos and Faron Woods. 

Link takes the moment to appreciate the sound of morning, creatures just waking or just falling asleep, the rustling leaves, the gentle sounds of moving water. He sees a doe happen past on the opposite side of the river, and he does nothing, only watching her move. There is peace here, in these lands. Why can’t he find some of that for himself? 

Shaking his head, he gathers his things, and he sets off for the stable. 

He makes it there by mid-morning, dropping his things off and setting out for an adventure. He wanders through the grasslands and the plains, creeping up on horses before they run from him. He goes to the lake, Haran lake, and while it is not deep enough to swim in nor fish in, he lounges there in the sun and stares up at the clouds. 

They shift, constant in their changing, but you would only know they were moving if you watched them. 

He misses Sidon as he lies there, and he wonders what sort of conversation they might have if Sidon was lying there next to him. 

_Oh, hero_ , Link imagines his princely voice saying, _it is such a lovely day, and still, even a day so fair pales in comparison to your loveliness._

He bites across a smile as he imagines it, thinking of the grandiose way Sidon speaks, the way he waves his hands like an eager, excitable command. 

It is practically time for his next meal by the time he is able to shake himself from reverie. And what a silly reverie it is. He scolds himself. He came because he needed to get away from all that. Because he needed to find what he was made of after he lost the great mission of his life. 

Is that all that’s left for him? Love? 

And would that be such a terrible thing if it were true? 

Link goes back to the stable, cooks himself a couple meat and mushroom skewers that leave him feeling rejuvenated. He takes the opportunity of the daylight to travel south. Link can almost smell the sea air, and for a moment, he considers traipsing off, forgetting everything behind him just to go swim in the cool ocean waters. 

He gently pulls his horse to a stop, considers it more. 

It would be foolish, to be sure. Not only would it impose upon the people he’s left behind but… but what would the gain be? The rivers to the north were just as sweet and cool. He’s been to Puffer Beach a great number of times. He can return at any time. Not this day. 

He turns sharply, and he and his horse pull to a gallop. They follow the beaten path, and Link closes his eyes as he feels the wind whip through his hair. He watches the world as it streaks past him in blue, green, brown, and yellow, and he falls backward into memory as they dance across the Horse God’s bridge, the clapping sound of hooves against wood so dense that he can feel himself collide with it. 

Link came here once, and he made the offering. It was a stray beam of fire, of light, of power, and it struck her down. He had bitten back tears as the God rose from the dirt, and she had come back to life. A miracle before his eyes. 

He goes to the lake, and he dips his feet into the sacred waters. His horse grazes on the grass, and after he’s rested a while, he feeds her a carrot from his hand. He watches the world fall asleep there in that little glen, the shadows crawling up the stones. 

He journeys back, taking his time. After all, there is nothing but time now. The realization of that is sinking, chains around his ankles and wrists. He is tethered to this existence, unable to leave but unable to stay. 

Link rides back to the stable, and he gets a meal from the inn. The meal is stir fried beef and seafood over rice, and it is drizzled with a salty-sweet sauce, sprinkled with white seeds. It’s miles better than anything Link’s ever cooked, and it certainly reminds him of the meals he had at the Domain. Yet again, Sidon is brought back to the forefront of his mind. That’s when he asks for a mug of their wine. 

The serving girl gets him what he desires, a wooden mug full of red, and once she’s left, he tips it back and takes a long pull. It fills his stomach with warmth as he drinks, finishing what’s left of his supper before resisting the near overwhelming urge to lick his bowl clean. 

Idly, he scraps the sticky sauce away from the bowl with the edge of his spoon, and he sucks it off while staring into the middle distance. Them, he hears his own name. 

“Link?” 

He turns, sees the pretty girl with long auburn hair, a sharp nose. She wears an apron across her middle, and there’s a stain on the pocket. He looks down, and there is a scroll in her hand. The wax seal is aquamarine, glittering with crushed luminous stone. Link shuts his eyes, shakes his head, and sticks his hand out. 

“It comes from the Domain,” she says as if he didn’t already know exactly who wrote the letter. He hands her a blue rupee, and with a smile, she grabs his empty bowl and curtsies before leaving him to it. 

He turns back around, huddles by the light of the candle, and works his finger under the seal. It smells of perfume, sandalwood and orange. A very pleasant smell. One that reminds Link of Sidon. His chambers. His stomach pulls, a thread of desire tightening him up all over as he thinks of Sidon. 

He wonders if Sidon misses him. Wonders if he’s been gone long enough for Sidon to forgive him. 

He doesn’t know if he can accept whatever the letter might contain, but he knows that he was weak enough to leave, so he must be strong enough to do Sidon this much, read whatever curses and damnations might be inside. 

Carefully, as if he was handling Sidon himself, Link unfurls the letter, and he sees the familiar princely script, curling and flourished. He smiles, and he begins to read. 

_Dearest Link,_

_It is my understanding that the Domain employs the greatest couriers in the whole of Hyrule, so I trust that this letter will find you. It is my most sincere hope, of course, that it finds you well._

Link grabs his mug of wine, drinks deeply from it, letting a spit of red slip out of the corner of his mouth. He wipes at it, smiles to himself as he imagines Sidon writing these words with his own hand, sitting at the same desk Link wrote to him. 

_As of late, it has seemed rather empty and dull here, and I credit that entirely to your absence. You fill up every room, every hall with an incredible light, a joy that cannot be explained or denied. You, my darling, my pearl, inspire beauty everywhere you go, and even your memory inspires beauty. For that, I must thank you._

He takes another sip of wine, swallows it thickly as he tries to swallow over his guilt, caught at the back of his throat. 

_I must confess, it was terrible to wake without you by my side, but if you have worried over me, please accept my forgiveness. I know that you had been unhappy in your time with me. Please accept my apologies. I only wish that you were able to confide in me what ailed you, my hero. However, if this is what needs to be done, then I understand. You are as honorable as they come, and while I desperately wish for you to stay here with me in the Domain, I know that it is not so uncomplicated. Whatever needs to be done, I hope that you are able to do it. For your own peace of mind, hero. That is what matters most of all._

Link feels his eyes water at the words, at the sincerity and the kindness. Sidon is full to the brim with it, and Link shouldn’t be allowed a drop. 

_The diadem remains yours from now until the end of time itself. I shall hold it for you until your return, but when it rests upon your crown once more, I must ask that you never give it back to me again. If you’ll remember, I have an exceedingly gentle heart, and I dwell on rejections such as this._

Link lowers the page, snorts as he imagines Sidon smiling as he writes. 

_I dream of you each and every night, my pearl, hoping that I live long enough to see the day that you come home to my arms. What a beautiful day that shall be._

_I love you with all that I am, all that I ever will be, and amidst all the daily alteration that this world sees as she spins and spins, the way I feel about you is almost certainly the only thing that shall never change._

_Yours eternally,  
Sidon_

By the time he’s finished with it, Link’s eyes are full, and his heart is heavy, torn in two different directions. 

He cannot return. He knows that now. He burned the bridge behind him as he left, as he walked away from a life that could have, _should_ have made him happy. Sidon, magnanimous and kind, would open his arms, yes, but Link will never go to him. Never. Sidon deserves a love much greater than this. A peaceful love. A fair one. 

Link places the letter onto the table, blinks away tears, and he takes his mug of wine. He lifts it to his mouth, takes three long swallows until the mug is empty. Putting the mug down, he grabs his ink and his little pen fashioned from a roughly hewn tree branch, his little scraps of paper, and he begins to write, not caring over whether his words are too emotional, too soft. 

_My Prince,_

_I cannot adequately describe just how relieved I am to hear from you._

_I did not know whether or not you’d ever speak to me again, let alone go out of your way to write to me. My prince, you treat me far better than I deserve, but I thank you all the same._

_I cannot pretend as though I have not thought of you, not wondered how you felt. My heart would have to be cold and dead._

_Still, I beseech you: find someone better suited to you. Find someone better. Surely, your father must desire you to seek a more pleasing match for your inevitable rule. I have never loved a person the way I love you, and for this reason and more, I hope that you find a person to love who is capable of loving you the way you truly deserve._

_Take this as a sign of just how true my love for you is. I have thought for many moons about you, and while some part of me wants to challenge you to keep your word, go running to your embrace, the better part of me, the stronger part wants for you to be happy. I want you to find someone worthy of loving you. I will never be that. I do not belong at your side._

_My prince, you will never have a servant more loyal to you than I am. Never forget this. I beg you._

_The day that I return to you, as near or as faraway as that day might be, I do hope that you find someone more suited to the diadem. I always thought it looked a bit silly on me, though I am sure a handsome, kind-hearted prince such as yourself will be able to find another._

_Yours,  
Link_

He finishes the letter, and he wonders how he might affix it together. His mind turns as he stares down at the seal of the Domain, glittering even in the darkness, shifting gold and blue in the amber candlelight. He picks it off easily, holding it up over the candle, watching as the bottom goes soft and wet. 

Link rolls his own letter, pressing the seal to the meeting edges so that it stays shut. He smiles down at the seal, and he calls the serving girl over. He gently instructs her to send it back whence it came, and she nods with a pleasant smile, growing ever more pleasant when he tips her with a red rupee. 

He goes to bed that night, and he thinks about the bed surrounded with water. He dreams of the waves. He dreams of the arms that held him, even though he would rather think of nothing.  
  


∏

The following morning, Link packs his things and gets back on the road.

He takes the left at the start of Faron Woods, follows them west past the plains of Barula and Cora Lake’s tower. He stares at the staggering structure as he rides, remembering days when he would zip from tower to tower, letting the wind carry him down wherever he needed to be. He remembers when the feeling of coming apart and coming back together again was as natural as breathing. The cool blue magic along his skin. The darkness of time. 

He closes his eyes and focuses. The road is long ahead of him. 

He rests that evening before the great Bridge of Hylia, fishing in the lake. He catches a few bass, two red and one green, and he eats fire-roasted fish for his supper. Sitting along the bank of the lake brings him back. He remembers shooting the octorok. He remembers lifting treasure from the sandy mouth of the water. He remembers crossing this bridge so many times. 

He fears that this time, it will feel much different. 

In the morning, he taps his heels against his horse’s side, and she takes to a slow walk. The world wakes in golds and pinks, and it is quite a beautiful sight, watching the sun stretch her arms. 

He crosses the bridge, and he tries to avoid thinking of the enemies that always met him dead center. They were laid to rest. Where is his rest? Why can’t he let himself have it?  
  


∏

It is another several days before he makes it to his next destination, one that felt entirely familiar and good. He sees her at the base of the Whistling Hill, a dense smattering of trees ripe for harvesting.

He nearly does not recognize her, though. She is… she has _changed_. 

Her hair is short, an inch or two above her shoulders. Her clothes are different too, pants and a shirt and no armor. There is a belt wrapped around her waist, a little hand axe hanging from it. He watches as she takes it from her belt, hacking a log into three sections, and each of those sections into another two sections. 

When has she ever chopped wood before? How long has it been since they saw each other? Goddess, it feels like a lifetime now. 

It is Link’s opinion that Zelda looks quite fetching this way, hair shorn short. It is affixed at the back of her neck in a short tail, and he sneaks up on her as she gathers wood from the base of the fell tree. He crouches low, stalking silently closer and closer. Finally, when he’s within arms length of her, he reaches out slowly to play with the ends of her hair. 

Predictably, she jumps back as if she’s been burned, eyes wide and furious. Link laughs before crossing his arms, standing up tall and strong. 

_What’s someone like you doing here with no protection_ , Link signs quickly, but before he knows it, Zelda is jumping into his arms, squeezing him tightly around the neck. 

“Link, _Goddess_ , you nearly scared the life out of me!” she says hurriedly, burying nearly all the words into his neck. 

_Sorry_ , he writes, tracing the letters into her arm.

They embrace for longer than Link can keep track of, but when she pulls back, she thumps him on the shoulder once, twice, three times. 

“You foul creature,” she laughs, delighted, a bright smile on her face. 

_Hey,_ he signs. _We’ve not seen each other for a while. Is that how you treat a long-lost friend?_

“Of course not, but w-what are you doing here?” Zelda asks, and she looks left to right as if she’s searching for something. “Where is your prince?” 

_I came on my own_ , Link signs, and he smiles at her. However, his smile turns sour when she dons a look of alarm. _What’s the matter?_

“On your own?” 

_As if I can’t walk the open road,_ he scoffs. 

“I only thought… well, I thought you would stay with the Zora,” Zelda says, and then, as if to qualify her statement, “With Sidon.” 

_Well, I did,_ Link signs. _For a while._

“I thought you were going to stay… forever,” Zelda says, raising her brows like she’s waiting for Link to catch on. “The diadem…” 

_He told you about that?_

“Only after I’d asked about it,” Zelda says. “Am I not allowed to be interested in your life and the people you associate yourself with?” 

She folds her arms primly across her chest, staring down her nose, and despite her outfit, her hair… she cannot shed the look of a princess. How did he manage this, living and loving royalty? 

Link looks off, signs quickly and smally, _You’re allowed_.

“Then what of the diadem? I assume you accepted.” 

_I did. But then I gave it back to him_ , he says. 

“Y-You what?” Zelda says.

 _Just as I told you_ , Link says, even as he feels the guilt rise inside him, climbing up his walls. 

“Why would you do something like that?” she wonders, and Link supposes it would be easier if she looked angry or upset or hateful. Instead, she just looks confused. A little worried. 

_All they do is worry about me_ , Link thinks. _I’m tired of people worrying._

 _I didn’t belong there_ , Link signs, hands moving fast as Zelda attempts to keep up. _I hated it there. I hated living like a prince. I didn’t want to ruin his reputation anymore than I already had, and I thought it best to leave before things got worse._

“Oh, Link,” Zelda says, that familiar sound of pity that Link has come to revile. 

_What?_

“If you don’t belong there with the person you love, then where _do_ you belong?” she asks gently. 

When Link stares off into the distance, he wishes he could still see the bright pink and purple and deep dark black of the malice. That’s when he realizes just how nasty he has become, just how insidious these thoughts have grown to be. They unfurl under the surface like roots. Maybe, in all that time, he didn’t rid the world of hate. Only accepted it. Absorbed some of it. Maybe he became the monster he was supposed to destroy. 

He walks with her back to the castle, lifting her onto his horse. 

“I don’t need this kind of treatment anymore,” Zelda says. 

Link does not answer, too overwhelmed with his emotion to formulate a thought. He is boiling from within, the anxiety and the uncertainty and the devastating loneliness even when he’s with someone so special to him.

“Oh, Link,” she says, and she reaches down to where he is leading the horse with the rein. “It will be all right in the end. We will survive this together. We must.” 

_Must we,_ he wonders, but he does not tell her what he’s thinking.  
  


∏

They go back to the castle, and it is flooded with Hylians, a strangely heartening sight. They all work to restore the castle and the neighboring town to its former glory, clearing away debris, rebuilding where necessary.

Heads turn as they approach, and Link feels his neck go red with the attention. He keeps his eyes straight, trying not to listen to the whispers as they pass. 

“Oh, don’t pay them any mind,” Zelda says. “I’m quite sure that with enough time, they’ll forget all about it. They’ll have enough time to focus on themselves again.” 

Link nods silently, and they approach the moat’s bridge. His fight, his last fight… it was not so long ago. Not really. 

And yet, it feels like an eternity. A small eternity, just for him. Trapping him. 

“Come along,” Zelda says, eagerly tapping her heels against the horse’s side. “Much to do. Like return a letter that’s come for you.” 

Link whips his head to the side, signing with one hand as he holds the reins in the other. _Letter?_

“I’ll have you know that the temptation to open it was almost _deadly_ ,” she smiles. “Come. I’ve kept it safe in my chambers.” 

Link walks the halls that haunted his dreams for one hundred years, but all the ghosts are gone. None left but the two of them. 

Zelda, of course, does not seem to notice. All the tapestries have been taken down, the stones scrubbed to a shine. 

_Where did it all go,_ he wonders. 

“Once repaired, they’ll be decorations for the homes of Castle Town,” Zelda says cheerfully. “I thought it a lovely idea. Besides, we’ll need to employ the weavers, won’t we? New tapestries are in order, I think. They’ll usher in a brand new era.” 

She speaks with hope in her heart, and Link wishes he could muster up that same hope. 

The castle looks a bit bleak without the lavish decor, empty grey stones and nothing besides, but when they reach the princess’s bed chambers, he is aghast. 

“So here it is,” Zelda says, waving her arm to the side. “What do you think?” 

The room is beautiful, amazing… Link’s eyes water as he looks at the pictures of the two of them, _artwork_ he realizes, watercolor paintings of himself and her, of the heroes, of common folk, of flora and fauna too. The paintings are strung along a thin braided rope, and they dip and bow along the walls. The staircase is decorated too, pennants of red and gold strung about to match the soft rugs underfoot. 

Vases upon the tabletops spill over with silent princesses, and big green plants with flat shiny leaves fill the corners of the room. The bed, once collapsed, cracked cleanly in half, has been repaired, and the spread has been embroidered with the Hylian crest. 

Link looks to her writing desk, and it looks heavily used now, strewn about with parchment and paperwork and stacks upon stacks of books. 

He came here, a quiet moment just for the two of them when he was on the precipice of the greatest battle of all time. The fight for life. He read over her diary, thumbing through pages of their life, and he thought to himself _This is worth fighting for._

The question now has become, _is it worth living for?_

“Here,” Zelda says, and she hurries him towards that familiar desk, sitting him down before scouring through the papers. “Oh, I know I just had it with me, hold on a moment…” 

He watches with mild amusement as she struggles, but when she emerges triumphantly with that letter sealed with silvery blue, Link’s heart drops to the pit of his stomach. 

“You’ve gone so pale,” she says, holding the letter between her hands. “Why?” 

_It is nothing._

“Is it?” she wonders, tilting her head to the side. “Shall I press you now or later?” 

Link rolls his eyes, quickly signing _Later_ before snatching the letter from her hands. _Don’t you have some very official woodworking to do?_

“I don’t work with the wood,” Zelda says. “I only help to gather it.” 

_You look quite happy doing it,_ Link signs, aware only halfway through how much it aches him to think it. 

“You will be happy too,” Zelda says. “Perhaps not today, maybe not tomorrow, but you will. I swear it.” 

Link looks towards the seal, fingernail scratching at the wax. 

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Zelda says cheerfully, a feigned little sound that makes Link’s stomach turn. She pauses by the large door. “Not to worry, I’ll be back to fetch your correspondence!” 

_I’m not writing back,_ Link says. 

Zelda braces a hand on the door’s frame, turning back to him. 

“How would you know?” she asks. “You haven’t even read what he’s said.”

She leaves without saying anything else, but somehow, that speaks volumes. He’s always been a bit rash, always jumped to conclusions and acted before thinking. Maybe he ought to start thinking, not so guided by guts and emotion. 

Link settles in the chair at the desk, unfurls the letter, sees Sidon’s princely script, and reads with a smile. 

_  
Dearest Link,_

_I am writing entirely on the faith that I know you, that I can predict where you’ll head next. Forgive me if I am completely misguided, hero, but I think that you will return to what is most familiar to you, most precious, namely the princess. If this letter finds its way into Zelda’s hands instead of yours, I do hope she knows where you are so that she might pass it along to you._

_I must confess, I did not know that I would reach you, nor did I know that you would return to me with a letter of your own. As long as I’m coming clean, my pearl, do know that I have read your letter so many times that the page has begun to fall apart in my hands._

_Now, please forgive me, but I must reaffirm my adoration. It is my sincerest desire to hold you once more, my love, but as long as you promise to consider me, I promise that I will not stop loving you in your absence. In fact, it is not a promise. It is a guarantee._

_While we are on the topic, dear hero, I must respectfully decline your offer to, as you put it, “find someone better.” Firstly, I find it hard to believe that you are not devastatingly aware of how special you are. Not only is there no one better, my sweet, but there is absolutely no one who compares. You are by far the most enrapturing person I have ever had the good fortune to meet. Even if I wanted to find someone better, I could not. Such people simply do not exist._

_Furthermore, and forgive me if this sounds dramatic, I would rather die than take another at my side. Since I have known you, since I have gotten the chance to love you, there would not, no,_ could not _be another. You are the sun in the morning, the stars in the evening. You are the cool waters, and you are the soft earth. You have become this life for me, and while I yearn for you each and every day that we are apart, I know that I would do anything to make you happiest, even if it means keeping the distance between us._

_I do hope you are staying safe. I’ve heard that the Floria Falls are quite the sight to behold. I think of you swimming there, and it brings me great joy. Have you been eating well, hero? We had the crab paella the other day, and I thought of you as I ate. I know how you enjoyed it._

_As it happens, I have been thinking of you more and more each evening. The light of the luminous stones reminds me of you, and Goddess, I am surrounded by them. By the light of your love._

_Ah, I’m afraid I’ve kept you long enough with my frivolous rambling. For now, I will retire for the evening, and I will leave you to your exploration. Do remember, though: I wish you happiness, I wish you love, and most of all, I wish you peace._

_Yours eternally,  
Sidon  
_

Link’s throat aches with the need to cry out. He has hurt such a precious person. A thoughtful person. He’s just going to sit there and… and _wait?_ Link cannot abide it. Link cannot stand for that. Sidon is foolish, love-stricken for whatever reason and dumb because of it. He will fix this. He will. If only so that his conscience can rest. 

He grabs a pen, and he quickly scrawls: 

_  
Sidon,_

_Do not be silly, my prince. You have talked yourself into madness. I am nothing special. I am just a man, same as any other. If I have to beg and you thought my pride would not allow it, I will prove you wrong. Find someone more worthy of this love. I will never be the kind of person who deserves it._

_Link_

_P.S. Thank you for thinking of me. I did enjoy the crab paella, and every time I see the blue shine of the stones or the rippling waters of an ocean, a lake, or a river, I am caught up in my thoughts of you, though I try my best to hold them to a minimum.  
_

He looks to the side, finding the royal seal, and he melts the red wax, stamping it quickly. His heart thumps in his ears, his teeth bite at the insides of his cheeks, but… but he’s done what’s right.  
  


∏

Zelda comes back in the evening, and she makes sure the letter gets sent.

Link hopes it will be the last of them for a while. He must forget, must… must forge anew. 

“Will you be staying for a while then?” Zelda asks over their supper. 

_I suppose_ , Link signs. _Unless you intend to kick me out._

Zelda laughs. “You were never very funny.” She looks at him warmly. “You will always have a home here, Link.” 

Link breaks eye contact, a pit in his stomach. Why here? Why with her? It doesn’t make any sense, none at all. He thought that maybe she was the key to ending this feeling, this feeling of _not belonging_ but he guesses that he is not even meant to be here. 

“We’ll talk tonight,” she warns him, nodding towards his cup of weak honey wine. “Will you need a drink to get you through it?” 

Link takes his glass and drains the rest. Zelda laughs, looking for more. At the very least, he has become okay with the familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont know if anyone wanted an update to this after such a long time, but whatever, i wanted it and sometimes that's enough! either way, i hope you enjoyed if you got this far. thank you for reading! i am sometimes hyper-motivated by comments, so if u read it and like it, well... wink wink


	3. still in silver

Link wakes in a bed unfamiliar to him. Is it pleasure that courses through him? Pain? Sometimes his emotions are uncontrollable waves. Sometimes he is swept away in the tides. 

He lies in the soft bed for a bit longer, staring at the stone ceiling. He is content to drift on the surface of the water for just a little while before he is to start his first day back at the castle. 

However, his thoughts are interrupted by a swift and sudden knock at his chamber door. 

Lifting himself up with a great stretch, he walks over to answer, finding Zelda to greet him with a smiling face. 

_Morning_ , he signs. 

“ _Good_ morning,” she stresses with a grin. “Do you know what’s come for you?” 

Link shakes his head _no_ , but just as soon as he’s done so, he realizes what it must be. Who it must be from. After all, no one really knows he’s here, no one would really care… none except for— 

“Prince Sidon’s sent another letter,” Zelda says. “And so quickly, too.” 

_He is remarkable in many ways_ , Link notes, looking away quickly. 

“May I come in?” Zelda asks, leaning in to assert herself into Link’s field of vision again. 

Link shrugs, and he leaves her to close the door behind her as he walks back into his chambers. 

His room is a simple one, not decorated beautifully like Zelda’s but certainly well-kept, almost as if Zelda was waiting for his return. He cannot decide how it makes him feel, equal parts pitied and comforted. He sits down onto his bed, his blanket embroidered with the Hylian crest as well, a twin to Zelda’s own. 

“Did you rest well?” Zelda asks. “Was the bed comfortable?” 

_It was fine_ , Link signs, but he stares at the letter in her hand as she sits at the desk in the corner of the room. 

“Oh, have I piqued your interest?” Zelda asks, and she touches the top of the scroll to the center of her chest. “All I’ve got to do is mention that prince of yours, and you become so… focused.” 

Link looks away, signs quickly. _I am not._

“You are too,” Zelda says. 

_I’m not._

“I won’t entertain such foolishness,” Zelda says sternly before tacking on a fast, “You are too.” 

Link turns to narrow his eyes at her, but it is very difficult to look at her with anything but awe. They’ve survived. They are here again. They are arguing again. They are alive. Goddess help them, they’re alive. 

His eyes well with tears for reasons he cannot begin to comprehend, and just as soon as he’s made eye contact with her, he breaks it. 

“Link,” she says softly, and she tosses the letter aside, going to him, kneeling before him. She takes his hands in hers, holding them firmly. “What is it?” 

_Nothing_ , he mouths, not quite wanting to take his hands away from hers. Least not yet. 

“You’ve been so… so hurt,” Zelda whispers. “You must tell us how to help.” 

Anger flares within him. It is misplaced, of course. He is not angry with her, he knows that, and still… 

He withdraws his hands sharply, and she knits her brow as she watches him sign. 

_I don’t need anything_ , he says. _I’m fine._

Zelda is quiet as she kneels before him, hands coming to rest gently on his kneecaps. Link cannot look her in the eye, can’t bear to see the disappointment there. She stands a moment later, wearing the silence like a shroud of white. She only speaks when she’s made it to the door. 

“I’ll start on breakfast then,” she says, a small smile on her face like she can’t seem to rid herself of it. “I’m sure you’re hungry.” 

Link lets her go, knowing that he should go after her. Apologize for his behavior. It’s just that… what is there to help with now? Before it was all right, he could admit it to himself: it was too big of a task to do it alone. He _needed_ help. There was a task. There was a mission. There was a calling. There was Zelda, waiting. Now, what is there to help with? What is there at all? 

Tears spill down his face and he is alarmed to find himself unable to stop them for several moments. He heaves a breath and then another. Tries to find the air that eludes him. He sucks in lungful after lungful as he frantically unravels, hands clinging to the golden threads of the embroidered bedspread, and the only thing that manages to stop him from coming completely apart, the only thing that seems to _help_ is when he digs his nails into his leg. The bright burst of pain feels like red against white, blood on snow, and Goddess, it does the trick. Suddenly the air is getting through, the hole in his chest widening to let all the air in. It feels like heaven, like seeing heaven after hell, and he blinks several times to clear the haze. 

He realizes that it was no poison in the forest. It was only him. Perhaps this is a lifelong poison. 

Once his breath has evened, he realizes how foolish he is. How utterly ridiculous. He wipes his face and then wipes his hands on the blankets. 

He stands, and he goes to the desk where Zelda left the letter. The seal is just the same as always, and Link stares at it with growing affection. _Didn’t I tell you to stop writing,_ Link wonders, finger slipping over the wax. 

He sits down, unfurls the letter, and reads: 

_My Dearest Link,_

_If you thought that you could be rid of me so easily, I think it is you who have talked yourself into madness. You see, my love, I am not some ordinary man just as you are not an ordinary man. We are extraordinary, and extraordinary people do extraordinary things. I have the resolve of at least twenty, the determination of fifty. I’m sure that, in time, you’ll see this for the truth that it is._

Link closes his eyes with a smile, lowering the letter as he imagines Sidon’s proud face as he wrote those words. It is such a clear picture that he can practically reach out and touch him in his mind’s eye. 

_Frankly, I find your assumption that a simple letter would be enough to subdue me a little insulting. Have you ever known a person as resolute as me? Have you ever known me to give up hope on something I believe in? No, definitely not. So why then, dear hero, would you think I would give up now? On you?_

_I don’t know how many more times I can say the words with fresh blood, but I suppose it matters not. I will repeat them as long as they bear repeating: I will be with you until you stop longing for me or until time sees fit to take us. This, I can assure you._

Despite himself, Link finds a smile creeping onto his face. He chases it away as he reads on. 

_If you find it such a challenge to avoid your thoughts of me, I say why attempt to rein them in? Let yourself indulge in the memories of our bodies together in the warm waters of home. Relax into the thoughts of my arms around you, the promise of greeting once again. Find yourself in days long past, in nights to come, and stay there for as long as you see fit. Think of me often, hero, for I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that you will never think as much about me as I think about you._

Link huffs a wet laugh, furiously blinking to clear his vision. 

_The evening grows long now, stretching into the morning, and if I want this reply to reach you sooner rather than later, I’m sure I must send it quickly. Forgive my brevity, I will overwhelm you with long, ardent letters soon enough, my sweet._

Link smiles, fingers tightening along the page. 

_Will Castle Town remain as your place of residence for a while, my hero? I hate to be a nuisance, but please do keep me updated on your whereabouts. It sets your frantic prince’s heart at ease, knowing where you lay your head at night._

_Until I hear from you again, I hope that you remain safe and sound. If you could do me the honor, please tell the princess that I send her my warmest regards and that I have been looking forward to the royal visit._

_My love, remember that no matter what, you are never alone._

_Yours eternally,  
Sidon_

Link scrambles for a pen, a sheet of paper, but after he’s only managed to scribble _Prince Sidon_ , Zelda knocks at his door. He turns to see her poking her head through, and he waves her in. 

“Breakfast is ready,” Zelda says, and it looks as though all is forgotten with a bit of silence. “Eggs and sausage and toast. Come, come. I’ve gotten quite good at cooking, you’ll see.” 

_The prince sends his regards,_ Link signs quickly, raising his brows. _And he said he’s looking forward to the royal visit._

“Oh,” Zelda says, startled. “Of course. A-And please tell him I send my… my most sincere regards in return!” 

_What royal visit_ , Link mouths flatly. 

“Link,” she scolds, “you know I’m still a princess. A-And now, leadership has fallen to me, you know. I will be the queen before long. The queen of Hyrule, oh, it sounds so funny when you say it aloud. B-But… peaceful relations between ours and the other kingdoms, these are necessities for a rebuilding world!”

_You’re going back to the Domain,_ Link signs. 

“Not with haste,” Zelda says. 

_When?_

“Half a year,” Zelda says, and Link relaxes into his seat. “Well, what does it matter to you anyhow? You wouldn’t have to go.” 

_Of course I would_ , Link says. 

“And why is that?” she asks, arms across her chest. 

_To protect you,_ he says with his hands. It’s obvious, after all. 

“As if I need protecting,” she scoffs. “You’re so foolish. You just want an excuse to return to the Domain. Well, you won’t have it. I won’t have you escorting me.” 

Link sputters as he flails his arms, signing almost too quickly to be understood. _You can’t tell me what to do. You can’t tell me what I can’t do!_

“I will be queen,” Zelda says. “Half the job is ordering people around, isn’t it?” 

_You can’t order me around_ , Link says, and he folds his arms to mirror her. 

“You cannot live in both worlds,” Zelda advises him. “You cannot want to be my knight and not as well. You can’t want to return to the Domain and not as well. We can’t keep a foot in the past and a foot in the future. We must… we must step bravely into the now.” 

Link looks away. He hates when she gets her mind set on something. It’s hard to break her of it. 

“For now, I will go to the Domain alone,” Zelda says. 

_Half a year, you said_ , Link signs. 

“I did.” 

_All right._

“And if something changes within that time, well, that’s life, I suppose,” Zelda says, the old familiar optimism fading back in. “We will see what the world looks like in that time. We will see how we might change. How our… how our _perceptions_ might change. Our goals and desires.” 

Link hates change. He likes the familiar. The old ways. It suited him, he thinks. He found a little way to live in that world. It was lonely at first, unforgiving and harsh, but he found a home in the loneliness, in the harshness. This new world... he thinks it might chew him up, spit him out like he’s nothing more than flesh. 

“Well, I suppose you ought to write back,” Zelda says. “Go on, then. I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be working for most of the day, so—”

_Don’t leave_ , Link signs, furrowing his brow.

“I can’t just sit around all day,” Zelda says, and she nods towards the desk. “Go on. I’m going to eat, but I’ll keep yours warm. Write.” 

Link frowns, but he supposes she’s right. He deserves an answer. 

She goes, does as she said she’d do, and he sits down at the desk wondering how to explain… how to make him understand. 

_Prince Sidon_ , he finishes, pen scratching against the paper in that now familiar, pleasant way, _you are so much more challenging than even my worst battles._

_There are only so many times I can put up such willful fights against you. You do not deserve someone so painfully inadequate in these regards. Ah, there I go again. It’s hard to accept a world that would see fit to give your love to me, so forgive me these struggles. I’m not good with my words, not the way you are. That only compounds the issue, I’m afraid._

Link stares down at the words, words that sound so unlike him. He wonders if, even now, he’s trying to fit himself into a place that will not stretch large enough to fit him. 

_My thoughts are wild, sometimes unmanageable. I cannot help but think of our nights together. Do you remember that first night, after the calm? I think of it often_ , he confesses. 

_I will be staying in the area, I think, with the princess. On the subject, I did not know that there was a royal visit scheduled. I would have hoped to hear of it sooner, though I suppose it is my own fault. Were I by your side, I would have known quite quickly, I imagine._

_I don’t know why I’m here. I simply just don’t know where else to go. What to do. I know that you will say that I always have a place at your side, but it feels so funny. It feels like I do not belong._

_I’m sorry for the bitterness of this letter. I am not as talented as you. I can’t show you the same love you show me. Maybe someday. Maybe soon._

_I hope you are doing well, my prince. I think the nights will grow colder now, so I’ll hold onto my thoughts of you as you instructed._

_There is no rush on returning my letter._

_Yours,  
Link_

He finishes with a little drawing in the corner of the page, a little korok with its silly face in a smile. He seals the letter shut, and he goes to breakfast.  
  


∏

Link washes, dresses, and after the letter is sent, he follows Zelda around.

“If I’d known you’d be a shadow once more, I would have told you _no_ , you can’t stay here,” she grouses. “Go on. Find something to do.” 

_I’m doing what I want,_ Link says. _What I’m meant to do._

Zelda sighs as she guides them back to his chambers. “I don’t know how many times I need to say it, Link. I won’t have you as a knight.” 

_It is my purpose,_ he signs. 

“Find a new purpose,” she advises. “I truly believe… Link, would you want me to lie to you?” 

_Depends,_ he signs, walking briskly into the room and plopping himself down onto the bed. _Will the lie make me feel better?_

Zelda makes a sound of exasperation, and Link finds a mild amusement in that. 

“You jest, but I ask you truly… would you want me to spare your feelings?” Zelda asks. 

_No,_ he signs, rolling his eyes. _Of course not._

“I just think… I think you need to shift your focus to something else,” she says. “Something besides recapturing the life we used to have. It’s different now, everything is different, but that doesn’t mean it has to be _badno_.

She sighs. “Would it help if you were allowed to accompany me today?” 

Link folds his arms across his chest, but nods stiffly. 

“I swear,” Zelda says, and she takes her hair over her left shoulder, weaving what little there is into a soft, unfurling braid before tying it at the end, “you’d think we were sitting in the middle of Death Mountain with the way you act somedays.” 

_It’s not like I mean to be this way_ , Link signs hurriedly. _It’s not like I’m trying to be terrible._

Zelda’s mouth turns down, and she goes to him, staring down at him. 

“I know that,” she says. “I know it’s been difficult for you. It’s been difficult for me too, if you’d believe it.” 

Link looks her over, squinting. _You lie._

Zelda laughs primly. “It’s not exactly good manners to call your princess a liar.” 

_You’ve found your calling,_ he says. _You’re doing well._

She goes and sits next to him, the length of her thigh pressed against his. It reminds him that he is grounded in this body, that he is not some amorphous spirit streaking through space. For some reason, the knowledge sits heavily inside him.

“Do you ever feel as if there’s a… a pit in your stomach?” Zelda asks. “Like a pit of darkness so deep that you can’t see the bottom of it? 

Tears leap to his eyes. He nods. 

“A-And you think to yourself, _well, certainly I can fill it. If I could only fill it up with something bright, with something lovely, then I would feel better_ ,” she says. “You think that you can put something there in its place, and then finally all will be well. 

“But sometimes it doesn’t matter what we throw into the pit of darkness,” she continues. “Sometimes the darkness consumes it all.” 

_We lit the dark,_ Link signs. _Didn’t we rid the world of darkness?_

“If I have learned one thing over the years,” Zelda says softly, “it’s that we all have darkness inside us. That some darkness is necessary to balance out the light.” 

Link looks off. _All I can feel is the dark._

“Then you must look towards the light,” Zelda says. “I have found light, some places. It feels few and far between some days, but others… other days, it feels like the whole sky is lit up with lanterns. Isn’t that funny?” 

_You have a strange sense of humor_ , Link signs. 

“Time does that to us,” Zelda says, scrunching up her nose cutely. “Makes us strange.” 

She has never been so right, he thinks. 

“Come,” she says with a smile. “Let’s send this so that your prince receives it in good time.” 

Link rolls his eyes, but when she fetches the scroll from the desk, he follows her.  
  


∏

Link experiences Castle Town in a whole new way that afternoon and for the next few days to come. The Hylians work joyously as they put the town back together again, building and painting and gathering supplies, hunting and foraging and clearing refuse where it needs to be cleared.

He watches in wonder as the people gather in the Central Square. The ruins of nearby villages are starting to be filled with new families, new lives, and every evening, there is a great fire by the fountain, and everyone who needs to be fed is fed. There is laughter, there is wine, and there is soup in every bowl. 

Link hadn’t realized how quiet the world was until it was filled up with sound again.  
  


∏

Bones aching, he slips into the bath that fourth evening, and he closes his eyes as he plunges himself under the water. He scrubs the sweat from his skin, desperately tries to untangle the knots from his hair. He grabs his soap once he’s breached the surface, absently rubs it over his arms until it begins to lather. It smells like little more than powder and flowers, and even that… it’s a bit too much for him.

Looking back on it, he thought that perhaps it would take less effort, but he simply hadn’t realized how much there was to rebuilding a whole society. Plus, at the end of each day, his body aches in the sweet way that reminds him of Sidon. 

Such lewd thoughts belong in the evening, he thinks as he’s spread across his bed, a hand on his naked stomach after he’s patted himself dry. He imagines what Sidon might be doing. Meetings with the common folk? Restoration efforts of his own? 

He closes his eyes, fingers playing against the skin of his abdomen. He has not indulged since his flight, and that alone is strange for him. He’s always had a hunger for that sort of thing, especially when he thinks of… when he thinks of the past. 

As if on cue, there is a sharp knock at his door. Link sits up sharply, throws on a pair of pants, and hurries over. He hides his upper half behind the door as he pokes his head out. 

“Sorry,” Zelda says, and she sticks a scroll through the opening. “I hadn’t realized you were undressed.” 

Link shrugs as if to say _no matter_. 

“Just came from the Domain,” she says with a tiny smile. “Good to know that he’s not forgotten about you, isn’t it?” 

Link rolls his eyes. _Aren’t you supposed to be knitting poorly?_

“It’s _weaving_ , and it’s quite difficult, if you must know. Plus, they said I was _improving_.” 

It does its job, sending Zelda away in a huff. He’s good at that by now. 

Shutting the door behind him, he takes the scroll to his bedside, candlelight shimmering out over the room. His stomach tenses as he opens it and begins to read. 

_Dearest Link,_

_I had never once thought being called a bigger trial than the malice would bring me joy, but alas, you make me change my perspectives each and every day. My world is so large because of you. I thank you, my sweet._

_Again, since no one has done you the service previously, I must inform you now that you are not inadequate in any regard. I do wonder where this all began. You have never seemed to lack confidence before, my love—where does this insecurity come from now?_

_I know that I cannot solve these things for you, of course, but I wish with all of my heart that I could. If I could take the poison for you, if I could nurse the wound on my own flesh instead of yours… why, I think I would take those chances, no matter how grave the danger._

_I suppose it might seem trivial to some, keep on repeating these faultless declarations of love, but this is what affection does to me. I am besotted, Link, and often I am consumed by the thoughts of you. No matter how busy my days are, no matter what kind of tasks litter my agenda, and oh, do they litter… still I think of you. I think of what you might be doing there. Aiding in the rebuild, I would think… you’ve always been quite good with your hands. I believe I know that better than most._

The blatant flirtation makes Link lower the page with a blush painted across his cheeks. It makes him wonder: does Sidon think about Link in the evening? Does he imagine them together? Lying the way they used to lie? 

_As for the royal visit, you must know that my father reached out to the princess without my knowledge. I know that you might feel obligated to attend on Princess Zelda’s or perhaps even my behalf, but please, think no more of it. I would never ask you to return before you were ready. I would never ask you to return at all if it was not your heart’s desire, my love. I’m sure I’ve said that a million times by now, but no matter how much it would hurt, it remains true._

Link blinks, and suddenly, he understands why Zelda was so against him accompanying her. He said he would go for her, not for himself. She wants him to return to the Domain on his own, not because of obligation. 

It makes his heart ache. They’re too thoughtful, the pair of him. They can read him better than he can read himself. Is he so predictable? So obvious? He shuts his eyes for a moment, bathed in black, before he finishes the letter. 

_Have you been well? Has our dear Zelda been keeping you in good health? Tell me of your days, sing to me of your many triumphs, hero. My imagination is so simple without you coloring my life._

_I await your answer. I must say, correspondence from you is often the brightest part of my week. Isn’t it curious, the way candlelight can become the size of the sun when you approach it, the closer you get to it?_

_In case I have not been plain enough, read this now: I love you._

_Yours eternally,  
Sidon_

_P.S. I greatly enjoyed your drawing. I didn't know that you were so gifted in the arts!_

Link swallows thickly as he lowers himself to the bed, letting the letter fall to the floor. Groaning in frustration, he shuts his eyes for a moment before he pushes himself up, picks up Sidon’s letter and heads to the desk to pen his reply. 

In many ways, this has become the best part of his week too. Even still, it feels too… domesticated. Too tamed. Should he not be out there, sleeping under the stars? Was that not what he told himself he would do? Wasn’t that the whole purpose of leaving? 

Still, the world is new. Zelda keeps saying so. He cannot go back to the old one, no matter how hard he might want to. What’s wrong with finding a new place? What’s so bad about it? 

Angry with himself, he picks up his pen, grabs a piece of paper from the stack, and begins. 

_My prince,_

_I do not know where all the insecurity began, nor how, but it has manifested in me like a sickness. Did I tell you that I thought I’d been poisoned because the panic had made me feel ill? It’s a good laugh now. I’m foolish sometimes._

_I should tell you… I am trying. Trying to forget all these foolish thoughts. Zelda keeps telling me about stepping into the now. Forgetting the past. How am I supposed to forget the past when it made me who I am? Who am I now that I don’t have any of the things I built myself around?_

_I don’t expect you to solve these things for me. I would never ask that of you. In fact, I think that’s another reason I felt I must leave… I was trying so hard to stay afloat, I felt as though I might hold onto you too tightly and accidentally drown you. Perhaps that’s another thing to laugh about. You are, after all, the best swimmer amongst your kind._

Link smiles to himself, imagining the way Sidon’s chest will puff out upon reading that compliment. 

_Worry not over the royal visit. It is still quite far away, I’m told, so… who knows? The winds may change. Zelda is always telling me how frivolous I can be, so maybe my frivolous mind will have settled by then._

_Zelda and I have been well. We work long days here. I help to build houses. Making them out of wood is easier than rock, but it results in many more splinters. I don’t favor the work, but it is something to pass the time and something to occupy the hands. There aren’t many triumphs to be had anymore, my prince._

Link blinks wetly, and he tries to recenter himself. 

_I think of you always, but especially during the nights. They seem so much longer without you by my side. Tell me, my prince, does your body ache for my touch? Does it crave warmth? Sometimes I imagine what you might look like, absently moving through the night, limbs splitting the sheets in search of me, seeking something that you cannot have. You always wear your desperation prettily. It is my favorite look upon you besides that of love._

_I suppose I haven’t said it simply since I left, so I will be plain to match you: I love you._

_Yours,  
Link_

He tacks on a little drawing of a flower, a little pointed silent princess. Satisfied for the moment, a funny kind of heat in his stomach, he seals his letter and after he puts on a tunic, he takes it to the pigeon post. He affixes the letter to the bird’s leg, and he sends it off into the night. Standing by the window, he lets the cool air wash over him. It is beginning to get so cold it almost feels _misty_. It immediately reminds him of the Domain. _Good for the skin_ , Sidon always says. 

Staring out over the little rebuilding town, he comes to a realization as sudden as a spark. Filled with hope, a funny, bright sort of hope, he decides to search for Zelda. 

He walks back down from the tower, and he sees a fire in the library. He approaches quietly, but Zelda turns quickly enough to make him start. 

“You’ve lost your talent for stealth,” she says, closing her book with a _thump_. “Sending a letter?” He says nothing, but that’s admission enough. “I hope you aren’t tormenting him too much.” 

Link rolls his eyes before he looks around. The library is still in much disrepair. _What are you doing here?_

“Catching up on my reading,” she says. “I thought you’d be back in your chambers.” 

_I had something to say,_ Link signs.

“Of course,” she says. “I had thought you might.” 

Link frowns, but he moves his hands anyway. _I was thinking of taking a trip._

He does not know what he expected, but he imagined at least _some_ sort of reaction. Zelda does not give away much, only searching his eyes for a moment before looking back to the cover of her book. 

“If that’s what you wish, then I cannot stop you,” Zelda says. 

_Are you cross with me?_

She resettles in her chair, tucking one leg underneath her body. “I’m not cross. I only… I wish I knew how to help.” 

Link looks down to his hands as he signs. _I think this will help._

“Then I am happy for you,” she says softly, and when Link looks into her eyes, he can see that she is telling the truth. She’s never been a good liar. “Where will you go?” 

_Somewhere close,_ he says. _Only for a couple days._

“A short journey,” she smiles. “I think that sounds lovely. Perhaps the old settlement at Rauru? We needed someone to go there to inspect the lands, see if there was anyone there in need of help.”

He tries to conjure up the picture of Rauru. The hillside, yes, the hills near the camp. The little lake. It might be nice. 

_All right_ , he signs. _Rauru, then._

“In the morning?” she asks. “I’ll cook a nice big breakfast to send you off.” 

Link’s heart fills with warmth as he moves his hands. _That sounds nice._

“Well, until tomorrow then,” she says happily. “I’m glad you’ve found something to excite you, Link.” 

_Me too,_ he says quickly, turning on his heel before she can give him any more embarrassing praise. 

“Oh,” Zelda says, and Link looks back over his shoulder as he stands by the archway. “If you were worried about Sidon’s letters? Rest assured that I will keep safe whatever he sends until you return.” 

Link breathes out before he gives her a crooked smile. He leaves her, face heating wildly. He is used to her teasing, but he is not used to her teasing being so pointed and true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for these characterizations, sorry for the way i keep going on and on,,,, sorry for being the way i am klasjdajlg in retrospect, i guess i probably should have tagged this fic slowburn? i guess now is as good a time as any. 
> 
> anyway i know this is probably like, extremely weird, but i just kinda like writing these letters and i like Making My Boys Self-Actualize Over Time, is that so wrong of me???? is it illegal??? 
> 
> lkjkjga sorry.... i'll try to write some more soon if u want it, let me know if u liked it >< thank you for reading 
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/okamiwind) | [my curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/okamiwind)


	4. glimmer of gold

The settlement at Rauru is only a day’s ride, but it feels good to be on horseback again. In a great many ways, perhaps silly ways, Link feels like he is most himself atop a horse. 

Zelda had honored her promise, sending him off with a large breakfast, almost too much to eat. Eggs with bright yellow yolks speckled black with pepper, points of toast glistening with butter. He had speared the yolks open with the sharp of his knife, letting it spill over his plate, but he had wiped it clean with sausage and bread, eating two helpings of cinnamon-spiced stewed apples afterward. 

She had told him to take his time when he was away, but he could tell that she would worry over him. Zelda was a loyal person, always had been, right to her very core. She would spend his evenings away by the fire, thinking about what he might be doing. What trouble he was getting himself into. He knew this to be true, whether or not she cared to admit it. She never would. She was as stubborn as she was loyal. 

Link smiles to himself as he nudged the horse into a gallop. The sudden burst of speed makes his stomach pull with excitement as he feels the wind lance through his hair. He closes his eyes, lets the horse go where it knows to go and allows the moment to wash over him, wash him clean. 

He arrives by the settling of night, and he lets the horse graze as he wanders through what’s left of this forgotten place. 

There is still no one here, no one but ghosts, and Link finds the place more haunting than ever before. What’s changed, he wonders, boots padding across the soft earth. The feeling creeping through him is eerie and strange, unforgiving as it grips him tightly. 

Suddenly, he is reminded of Zelda’s words. A foot in the past, a foot in the future. He is being torn apart by this, his need to remain in the wild, his desire to step further into time. He knows, instinctually, that it means either living or dying. There is no way to return to what is lost. 

He sets his camp near one of the practically-destroyed parapets, fire warming him through as he lays his head to rest. He distantly wishes Sidon was here to bring a smile to his face because joy has never felt further away from him now. He wishes he had a slip of paper, a pen with ink… Sidon, he thinks, even just writing words to him—maybe that would bring him somewhere lovely. Somewhere like salvation. 

Where is there to go, he wonders, if neither this nor them can help? 

Is he lost? Will he always be lost? Is the world so small that there is nowhere else to turn to? 

He stares at the moon, and he prays to the goddess. He can’t remember the last time he spoke to her so plainly. 

_Help me find rest_ , he thinks. _Please._

His eyes slip shut as the stars paint him in their lonely light.  
  


∏

Link wakes with the rising sun, and he stretches, sleepily combing his hair back into a ponytail. He turns, sees the horse bedded near an apple tree. It feels like a sight from the past, some memory coming back to him from far away. Stealing constellations from the sky.

Being here now, it does not feel as sharp and cruel as it did the night prior. He pads down the stone stairs, going to the apple tree. He strokes the horse’s nose until she rouses, and he feeds her a piece of fruit from his hand. She neighs softly when she’s finished with it, and he leans against the tree, eyes shutting softly as he pets her face. 

He manages to make himself a quick meal in the late morning after he’s washed in the river nearby, eggs from a nearby tree cracked and fried over the fire. The more he eats, the more he realizes that it lacks flavor. He craves butter and salt, some of the well-toasted points of bread that Zelda had given him. Slow-stewed apples, bubbling and brown with cinnamon and sugar. He smacks his lips unhappily as he dreams of slightly better cooking. 

He carries himself through the early afternoon wandering around the settlement’s ruins as he searches for stragglers. He wonders if the rebuild efforts will stretch this far into the countryside. Link stands upon the hill, staring down at the crumbling rocks. It will take ages, he thinks to himself, to lift each stone back into place. It will take many people, he fears. 

Still, there is no reason to luxuriate in death. Rauru has been ruined for a long time. It is time, he thinks. Time to move the rocks back into place. Time to do the heavy lifting, no matter how exhausted his mind might be, no matter how weak his muscles might feel. 

In the evening, he watches the stars from his makeshift bed along the top of the decrepit staircase. He traces lines along his neck as if connecting the balls of wavering light, so close and yet so far. He thinks of the night he spent with Sidon, watching these same stars. The eyes of the world are upon him, open and wide, and he must continue. He must persevere.  
  


∏

The next day, he heads to the military training and sits on the hill as he stares down at what’s become of the swamp since the malice’s eradication. The enemy camp which once teemed with bokoblins is quiet, and distantly, he misses them. Now, nothing lives here. Nothing but the mushrooms.

He looks down to the waters. Last he saw, it was nothing but muck, bottomless and muddy, but since, it seems like the water has cleared slightly. He makes a mental note. Zelda might like to see these lands return to their original purpose, but again, it would take a great effort. The water must be drained, trees and shrubs would need to be planted… still, he smiles, it might be good. To come here. To fight. To train with other soldiers. It would be good fun. 

He stands with a stretch, and he imagines an opponent standing before him as he draws his sword from his scabbard. Tall, he thinks, tall and strong and quick. He closes his eyes, and suddenly, Sidon is before him as he runs through his flow drills. The sword moves like part of him as he slowly moves into the drill, an extension of his arm. He whips it behind him left and right in a figure-eight of sorts, cutting closer and closer to his sides as he moves the sword backward as if deflecting strikes of a spear. 

He imagines Sidon’s laughter, the way his face goes light and easy whenever he fights. His determination is in his veins, cold and hard and unyielding, but by the time it reaches the surface of his skin, it is free. Simple. Like muscle memory. Like blue blood going red once it hits the air. 

It might be nice, he thinks to himself, to train with Sidon. Surely he must keep himself fit, in fighting form, and Link daydreams as he thoughtlessly moves through the rest of his exercises as if he’s cutting through water. His body is strong and sure, his movements deliriously precise. Link thinks about the way they might collide, metal sparkling in the daylight or even more prettily in the night. 

He commits the idea to memory, filing away in the back of his head. Perhaps if he ever returns to the domain. 

_Not if_ , he reminds himself with a secret smile. _When._  
  


∏

He starts his return the following morning, and by mid-evening, he’s returned to the castle. People wave excitedly upon his return, and he shuffles over to the stables with his horse, waving back and trying not to look too uncomfortable with the attention.

Even just in the several days he’s been away, the castle has changed. It looks a bit more colorful, though Link can’t say for certain how. Perhaps it is just the people who mill about, townspeople who work and feast and entertain themselves within the walls. He supposes they must be housed here for the interim. Until they find homes of their own. 

He hurries over to someone, and when he begins to sign, they stare at him with a look of confusion before he realizes that not everyone in this world knows his language. 

“S-Sorry, dear hero,” they say, their big brown eyes sparkling under the candlelight. “I cannot understand.” 

_Do you know where the princess is?_ , he mouths. 

“Ah, yes,” they say happily. “She’s in the library. She’s always in the library this time of night. Shall I show you the way?” 

Link shakes his head _no_ with a smile. He’s quite sure he knows where he’s going, but it is sweet of them to offer. 

Somewhere along the way on the journey up the winding staircases, Link’s stomach bottoms out with sadness. It is a lonely walk, and a sense of foreboding drapes itself along his shoulders. He thought perhaps the trip would solve him. Fix the issues, sort it out quickly so that he might… might find some peace. 

He knows that Zelda is right, knows that Sidon is right. He can be normal. He can be happy. How, though? Focus on the light, she had said. Find the light and face it. Let it cover your skin so that you can feel its warmth. 

A pit of longing widens inside him as he pulls open the grand doors to the library. He finds her facing the fire, a book in her lap, a wool blanket over her legs. She looks cozy, happy. Is this her sun? The billowing fire? Stories of other worlds? Faraway worlds? 

“You’re home,” she smiles. 

_I’m back_ , he signs. 

“And?” she asks, closing the book with a soft _thump_. 

_And what?_

“And how was it?” Zelda asks. “Was it an enlightening journey?” 

Link shrugs a shoulder. _Not bad._

Zelda folds her arms across her chest as she settles back into her armchair. “I confess, I thought you might return in higher spirits. This was, after all, _your_ idea.” 

_I know,_ Link says. 

“Then why so glum?” 

_I’m not glum._

She narrows her eyes at him. “I know when you’re upset, you know. You can’t hide from me even if you’d like to hide from everyone else.” 

Link looks away. 

_I’m sorry,_ , he signs quickly. _I just don’t feel well._

“What ails you, Link?” she asks, and he finds it very difficult to look upon her. 

_I’m not sure._

Silence falls over them, a damp, cold sheet of it. 

“A letter came,” she says, and he looks at her. She wears a soft, nervous smile. He hates to make her look like that. She is strong, she is sure of herself, and even still, she worries over him. “Would you like to see it?” 

He nods, and she brings him to his room. He finds himself biting across a smile as she takes her leave, mumbling something about weaving practice, and he closes his chamber door behind him as he eagerly unfurls the letter. 

_My most precious pearl,_

_No matter how plain you might think it is, I enjoy hearing about the work you do day in and day out. It makes it easier for me to imagine us together once more, our life together stretching on like the great river. You always were one to swim against the current, no matter how strong. Have I ever told you how much I admire that about you, hero? Your willingness to tackle any challenge?_

He is too kind, Link thinks, too generous with his assessments.

_Hero of mine, I cannot tell you how greatly I miss you. Even your mere presence here filled me with purpose, and without you, I am eager for its return._

_Is it greedy of me? Perhaps, yet I yearn for you at all hours, sunrise to sunset and in the quiet hours stretched between. To answer your questions, Link, yes, I think of you. Yes, I miss the warmth of you. I feel quite shameful writing such words, but nothing has ever felt so sweet—your body against mine. The feeling of your heart… my love, I miss it so dearly._

_What sort of things do you think of in the evenings, my pearl? Your descriptions glimmer like aquastones, so illuminating, I can’t help but want to hear more._

Link strokes a hand down his chest as he imagines Sidon reading over his letter. Imagines Sidon’s face painting pink the way it always does. He is princely, he is charming, and he is confident, but Link can always manage to catch him off-guard with something… blue. Sex, matters of the flesh, Sidon speaks quietly, shyly. Perhaps they are well-made for each other that way—theirs is a silent kind of love, no less true because of it. 

_I love him_ , Link thinks as Sidon’s face leaps forcefully into his head. _I miss being around him, and I want to be with him._ It is a frightening thought, frightening because of its strength and ardor, and Link blinks Sidon’s face away as he looks back to the letter. 

_Link, I hope you will be able to find what you are looking for, and I should tell you that for every sunrise and set we spend apart, my pride for you grows right alongside my longing. While I wish that I could have helped in some way, your determination to find your way makes my love for you all the more true. I will exercise a virtue I have not exercised in quite some time: patience. If it means I must wait until the world goes dry, then I will die gasping for your kiss, hero._

Link closes his eyes, and he tries to ignore the guilt. Sidon is good with his words, but Link doesn’t think he knows how powerful they can be. Sidon’s devotion, his passion, it can overwhelm and ensnare, and Link must be able to live without him. Must be able to carry on if it ends. 

_They call for me now_ , Link reads, the script going funny and messy, distinctly unlike Sidon. _I am expected to host a party this evening. It is quite lucky you aren’t here to see me fumble through my salutations, hero. I have put off writing them so that I might write to you instead. A prince shirking such important duties… it is unheard of. I doubt you would ever look upon me with the same benevolent, kind eyes._

Everything washed away after the storm, Link finds himself smiling down at the page. 

_Yours eternally,  
Sidon_

Link throws himself over to the desk as he haphazardly reaches for pen and paper. He begins to write without thinking, without planning. 

_My prince,_

_I have just returned from a trip to a nearby settlement called Rauru. Are you familiar with these lands? It is a ruin now, but it was my duty to scout them. It was good to be on my own for a while, but now, I am once again living in the lap of luxury. At least the food is better here._

He wets his pen again, hurries back to his page.

 _It was a good ride. I know you are not much for horseback riding, but I imagine it would feel something like a nice swim for you. It reminded me of the past. Before the great fight. I don’t know why I asked to leave, and I’m not sure if I accomplished much. Still, I thought of you. A day does not pass without my thinking of you. I’m sure you know this, but I must say it all the same. I’ve traded your embrace for an embrace of the horizon, and if I am quite honest, I cannot say I would make the same trade again._

He lowers his head as he thinks of their last night together, their bodies taut, tight against one another. He remembers the way Sidon had rested his hand on Link’s thigh, the way his mouth had pressed along the nape of Link’s neck. He had slipped out of that bed thoughtlessly, and now, an ever-growing part of him wishes to return. 

_You say you feel shame for writing such words, but I cannot think what is so shameful about it. Were we not meant to find such love? Such comfort in each other? When I am low, I dream of our nights, and it brings me to such heights. And if our love is my spark, our lust must be the fire._

_A good fuck is better than a fight, but I know you could deliver both with ease, my prince. I wandered to the military training sight after Rauru, and I thought of my sword against your spear. What a delicious battle it would be. I don’t believe we’ve ever spared before… do you think you could pin me, your grace? Do you think you would be able to get me underneath you? You are strong, and you certainly have the advantage of your size… but do you fear you might fall into old habits? Yield to me as you so often did, legs spreading eagerly as you waited for me to take you whatever way I desired you?_

Link finds his stomach turning with arousal as he writes, and he presses his hand against the low part of his abdomen to settle himself before continuing. 

_Slipping into your waters, my prince, that is the first thing I will do upon my return. I have never felt a current so strong, so warm. I reminisce at night, thinking of the way we met in midnights, the way I took you or the way I let you take me. We could make the seas boil red with our lust, my love. Goddess, I want to see the look on your face as I fuck you. I want to hear you call my name in pleasure. I want the world to fall apart around us. I would never notice, not if I was wrapped up in you._

Link shuts his eyes as he imagines them in their reunion. As he imagines the raw and vivid sensation, skin peeled back, the soft flesh tingling with newness against the cold, wet air. 

_Do know, my prince, that you have helped in more ways than you could ever imagine. Knowing that I have a place to return once I am well keeps me moving forward, keeps me searching for a cure to this sadness that has seized me. I am not as good with my writing, but… just know this for the truth that it is. Without you, I do not think there would be anything left of me now._

_Yours,  
Link_

Once he has finished signing his name, he seals it and sends it. He watches as the bird flies through the night, and he hopes that by the following evening, Sidon will have his answer. He would hate to keep him waiting for too long. 

Turning on his heel, Link goes in search of Zelda. By this time at night, the castle has seemingly fallen asleep, the hustling and bustling of the evening settling into rest. He walks through the quiet castle, and he looks for her in every room, down every hallway. At the very end of his search, he knocks on the wooden door to her chambers to find her tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. 

“Link?” she says. “A—Is everything all right?”

 _Just came by to talk_ , he says, and he peeks over her shoulder. _Were you sleeping?_

“No, of course not,” she says, and she opens her door to reveal her writing desk covered in correspondence, the candles lit and wavering. “I work well into the evenings. There is much to do in a kingdom.” 

_I had no idea,_ he signs. 

“Don’t be funny,” Zelda says, and she sits on her bed. 

_I’m not being funny,_ he signs. _I’m serious._

“You spent so much time in the Domain, surely you know that a kingdom requires _work_ ,” Zelda laughs. 

_He’s a prince,_ Link says. _It’s different._

“Whatever do you mean?” 

_We went to parties,_ Link says. _Hosted dinners._ He shrugs as if to say _silly things like this._

“He is training to be a king,” Zelda says. “Of course he doesn’t have _all_ the responsibilities of a king yet. He’s not ready for it. He is preparing, and believe it or not, these things, silly as they might be, are part of ruling.” 

_He’s not ready?_ , Link frowns. 

“You know what I meant,” Zelda says. 

_Are you ready for it?,_ he signs. 

“No sense in wondering whether I am or I’m not,” Zelda says, and she folds one leg over the other. “I _will_ be queen. We are making preparations for the coronation.” 

_Coronation?_

“Yes, it’s a sort of… well, how shall I explain it?” she says wistfully. “It is when I am crowned. Officially made queen!” 

Link narrows his eyes, signs furiously. _I’m not stupid. I know what a coronation is._

“Well, how am I to know?” Zelda says. “Sometimes you look at a bar of soap as if you’ve got no idea.” Link stares at her blankly until she bursts into laughter. “Oh, you’re no fun.” 

_When is the coronation?_ Link asks. 

“Three weeks time,” Zelda says. “It’s just been decided.” 

_Oh_ , Link says, and he worries his brows. _Doesn’t that mean there is much to be done?_

“Of course,” Zelda says, and she gestures to her desk full of papers. “What do you think I was doing before I arrived?” 

Link wanders over, spies over the edge of the desk. The letters are addressed to the royalty and rulers of the lands of Hyrule, each written in the princess’s own hand. Suddenly, a thought leaps into Link’s head, and he whips around to face Zelda once more. 

“What is it?” Zelda asks. 

_You invited the Domain to attend the coronation, did you not?_

“Of course,” Zelda says. Link boils silently, and she laughs at him. “I expect I was meant to tell you so that you could, what, run away? From your former betrothed?” 

Link bristles at the suggestion, but the more thought he gives it, he has been away. He had gone of his own volition. Zelda lets him find his own way, and if he wants to be involved in the decision-making of the kingdom, _queen_ dom, then he needs to make that decision for himself. 

_I won’t run_ , Link decides. 

“Good to know,” Zelda smiles. “If you decide to leave, that’s all right too. It is up to you.” 

_I think I’d like to see him_ , Link signs nervously, and he sucks in furious air, breathing it out before waving at his face. _It’s hot in here._

“You’ve been writing to him a lot since you arrived,” Zelda says, and that alone would not be much, but she says it in that _knowing_ way as if she’s so much wiser than everyone else. 

Maybe she is, Link thinks. Maybe she knows a lot more than he gives her credit for. 

_Yes_ , Link signs. _I have._

“That’s good, I think,” Zelda says, happily clapping her hands together. 

_I suppose._

“You look nervous,” Zelda says. 

_I’m not nervous._

“No?”

 _No_ , Link says, shaking his head hastily. _I’m not nervous._

“Right,” Zelda says, squinting at him. “What would possibly make you nervous about the prince attending my coronation? Perhaps you feel residual guilt about leaving in the first place? 

Link raises his shoulders, looking off towards her window. 

“Maybe it’s that you think he might ask you to return with him?” Zelda continues. “Or perhaps it’s that you are so eager to see him, and that passion, that _love_... well, it terrifies you.” Link’s eyes ache. “Or maybe worst of all… maybe it is a combination of all of it.” 

_What is your point,_ Link wonders as loudly as he can manage, sighing as he signs. 

“My point is that you have three long weeks to decide whether or not you’ll stay for the coronation,” Zelda says primly, and once the properness has worked its way out of her system. “If not for anyone else, I hope you choose to stay for yourself.” 

_What about you?_

“What about me?” Zelda asks. 

_Don’t you want me to stay?_

Zelda sighs, a secret smile streaking across her face. “Well, of course I want you to stay, but I can’t very well say it because then I know you will have me as an excuse.” 

_I care for you_ , Link says. _There’s no excuse to be made._

“I care for you,” Zelda says. “More than you know. More than anyone, even your prince.” She smiles to herself. “Don’t mention that to him in any of your letters, all right?” 

She looks up at Link, and Link smiles at her. 

_Wouldn’t want him to talk your ears clean off when he visits._

“He _is_ a talker, isn’t he?” Zelda grins. “I suppose that’s what they say. Opposites attract and all that.” 

Link rolls his eyes, and he wanders over to her, sits next to her on the bed. She lays her head on his shoulder, and he sighs. 

“You’ll stay?” Zelda asks. “Not out of any duty? Not out of responsibility, but because you want to?” 

He traces the words into her palm so that she can feel them as she hears them. 

_I’ll stay_ , he promises, and his stomach twists. 

He has so many words to keep.  
  


∏

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long-distance old-timey sexting woooo 
> 
> long time no update—sorry about that. actually maybe I am only talking to myself here? that's kind of nice. no one to apologize to lmao 
> 
> anyway. thanks for reading. i hope you have a great day. I'll try to keep the gap between this update and the next a bit smaller. i love this story, and whenever I start writing it again, it feels like it just.... pours right out of me ! its crazy. anyway. thanks again. have a good one!


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